The Rabbit Hole
by emele807
Summary: After a tragic accident killed her brother and a nasty divorce split up her parents, Emma Gui moves with her father to his hometown of Beacon Hills. She expects the worse after the move. Emma doesn't want to worry her dad, so she puts on a happy face, but as the supernatural creeps closer to her door, there's a heavy tension between the two as Emma tries to protect both of them.
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon, M&M, let's go." Dad said as he pushed open my door. I groaned and rolled over onto my side so back was to him.

"Five more minutes." I pleaded. I heard Dad chuckle.

"You said that five minutes ago." I heard the smile in his voice. I groaned again and rolled onto my back, pulling the covers over my head.

"Another five." I pleaded.

Dad paused for a moment before opening my bedroom door a bit more and stepping into my room. I felt the bed cave down as he sat on the edge. He tugged the edge of my comforter down just below my chin.

"You have to go."

"Says who?" I grumbled out.

"The state." Dad automatically answered, giving me a smile, "If it was up to me, I'd homeschool you. Keep you away from those boys. But then you wouldn't get into a good college and you'd live at home with me for the rest of my life." He grinned again. I made a face.

"Ha ha very funny." I said.

"How about this, you go to school."

"And?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"And you get an education, get involved, meet some friends, come home and tell me I was right and you were wrong."

"I'll pass." I said, screwing my mouth to the side.

"Downstairs in ten." Dad said, patting my leg as he got off of my bed.

"This place is so _boring_." I groaned, flopping my hands over my covers.

"Quaint." Dad corrected me. I made a face at him, sitting up on my elbows.

"Dad, this place is so quiet, I could hear a pin drop." I droned out, "When you said we were moving to California I expected beaches and sunshine and cities, but instead it's this old town up in northern no where's-ville and it's cold. California isn't supposed to be cold."

"Hey, now, don't knock it till you try it. I grew up here, M&M."

"You told me. Every day this summer." I dryly said. Dad gave me a wry smile.

"Let's go." He motioned to the door. "I let you skip yesterday, your official first day, so you owe me." I groaned. "Ten minutes." Dad flashed me both hands in the air to signal _ten_ before walking out of my room. I slumped back against the pillows and groaned.

Dad and I had moved to the "quaint" town of Beacon Hills in late August. It was a week after the divorce and two months after the Accident. I had chosen to go with Dad because my mother wasn't much of a mother after the Accident and I couldn't deal with that. So I uped and moved, leaving behind my old life, my old friends, old school, in Connecticut and moved to Beacon Hills.

My summer was a quiet one. I had a job as a lifeguard at the pool and then worked at the movie rental place at nights. I didn't make time for a social life because I didn't think the move would be permanent. I was wrong. Now it was my first day of school, and I was friendless. Well, I had friends, they were just back home, but I guess Beacon Hills was my home now.

I dressed in a pair of black tights underneath a pair of baggy overalls with a baggy purple shirt underneath the overalls. I paired it with a yellow and brown plaid flannel. I tromped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Dad and I had moved into his parents' house. We had renovated this summer as well. "A fresh start", Dad had said. I was still skeptical.

* * *

I put my bag on the counter and slumped down at the kitchen table, unlocking my phone. I had a few _good luck!_ Messages from my old friends. That made me smile, they must've sent them last night when I was asleep. I started to compose a new message when Dad snatched the phone from my hand and traded it for a plate of eggs and bacon.

"No phones at the table." He scolded. I rolled my eyes, but picked up my fork.

"So what would you say if I drove you to school today?" Dad asked as he went around the counter and started to clean up the kitchen. I almost dropped my fork.

"What?" I asked, eggs spraying from my mouth. Dad gave me a look. "Sorry." I mumbled, wiping my mouth. "Are you sure?" I asked after swallowing.

"Today's a new day, M&M." Dad quipped, "And I want to see my daughter off to school."

"Well, that's—that's great!" I said, giving him a smile. I picked up my plate and went into the kitchen, "Let's go." I said, kissing his cheek. Dad chuckled and rinsed off his hands. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, leading him out of the house.

* * *

We stood there. The two of us. Staring at the car that had been sitting in the driveway since we arrived in Beacon Hills. I gripped the strap of my bag and looked at Dad. He looked nervous.

"You can do it." I said, nudging him. He nodded.

"Yup. Yes." He nodded and took a step towards the car. And then he stopped, "No, I can do this." He rolled his shoulders back and took another step forward. I followed him as he quickly got into the driver's seat. He started the car and ran his hands on the steering wheel.

"Dad?" I asked after a moment. Dad let out a slow breath. I realized what was happening.

"Dad, it's okay."

"I'm sorry, Emma." His voice cracked as he closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Dad, it's fine. I can ride my bike. Really." I gave him a small smile and rubbed his arm.

"I thought I could. I thought today was the day."

"Hey, I said it's fine. Okay? I mean you made it this far." I said, motioning with my hands. Dad chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, yeah I did."

"Tomorrow's a new day." I sang. Dad smirked at me. And then he sighed.

"I'm sorry, M&M."

"It's really okay. But now I have to go or I'll be late." I said, giving Dad a small smile.

"You'll be home afterschool?"

"Yep." I nodded at him. He nodded back and reached over the barrier, giving me a hug. I squeezed tightly against him before letting go.

"Keep trying." I said, nodding at him.

"I will." He ran his hands over the steering wheel as he let out a breath. I pushed out of the car and hurried into the garage. I slung my bag around my shoulders as I grabbed my bike. I mounted it and pushed off, pedaling down the street.

Dad had an issue with driving ever since the Accident. I didn't blame him. We took a plane here, then a taxi to the house. I usually biked around town since I didn't have my license. And Dad, he stayed at home. He went out for walks and such, but he mostly stayed home. It was lucky that his job didn't require him to go to an office or something like that. He wrote books. So exciting, right? He had two bestsellers and was working on a third before the Accident. We were doing all right.

I skidded to a stop in front of the bike rack. I put my bike in the open space and locked it. Heaving a sigh, I pushed out of my crouch and I stood in front of the huge building, staring up to the roof. I scanned the school, looking at the windows, the hallways that went outside before finally landing on the sign. _Beacon Hills High School_ it read. I bit the inside of my lip and tightened my grip on my messenger bag. I scuffed my boot against the concrete before shaking my head.

"Ugh, this is so weird." I heard his voice whisper in my head. I could see him, looking up at the school before turning and smiling at me. "But, you can do this. C'mon, Emma." He motioned with his head towards the entrance. "You're gonna be late."

I gave him a small smile as I took in a deep breath. I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. Then my phone buzzed. I looked down to see one more _good luck! We miss you!_ Text. I grinned to myself and shoved my phone into my pocket. Then I pulled my bag higher onto my shoulder and took the first step.

* * *

The hallways were crowded to say the least as I walked out of my Math class. I had already covered the material that the class was learning now. So I was ahead for now. I hiked up my bag and walked to my locker which was marked with the number two hundred and fifty eight. I spun the combination and popped the lock off, opening my locker. I shoved my books into my locker and shut the door, only to see someone standing behind it.

I let out a startled, "Oh shit!" as I jumped a bit. The girl gave me a wry smile.

"_You're_ in my History class." The girl accused.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, picking up my shoulders and giving her a look. The girl smiled at me.

"I'm Lydia." She stuck out her hand. I hesitantly took it.

"I'm Em—"

"Emma Gui." Lydia finished for me. I gave her a look, "Small town." She said, as if that was enough of an explanation.

"Hey, Lydia." A raven-haired girl came up to Lydia, all smiles. Then she noticed me, "Hi!" She perkily said.

"Allison, this is Emma." Lydia introduced us, the wry smile still on her face. Allison shook my hand.

"Are you new here too?" Allison asked.

"Too?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm new!" Allison burst out, hands to her chest. I opened my mouth and raised my eyebrows as she laughed. The bell rang, cutting off our conversation.

"Listen, there's a party on Friday." Lydia said, taking my notebook from my hands and writing something on the first page. "You should stop by and I can introduce you to everyone."

"There's an _everyone_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Lydia laughed at my question.

"Oh, honey, of course there's an everyone." Lydia's voice sounded like a breath as she gripped my wrist. Then she let go of me and spun off, flouncing down the hall. I watched her go.

"I'll see you around." Allison promised, rubbing my arm, "Us newbies gotta stick together." She gave me a warm smile. I returned it as she hurried to catch up with Lydia. I blinked after a few seconds as the second bell rang. Then I hiked up my bag and walked towards the cafeteria.

* * *

I turned away from the lunch line and stared at the cafeteria. I knew from movies that you couldn't stand there for more than five seconds or else people would start to take notice. I gripped my tray, scanning the area before taking a step forward. I spotted a table that had a few empty seats, only one being taken up by a boy with curly blonde hair. I made my way over to the table, weaving through the maze of students. I made it to the table.

"This seat taken?" I asked, getting the boy's attention. He swallowed nervously before shaking his head no. "What's your name?" I asked, sitting down across from him. He didn't answer. "Well, I'm Emma." I said, cracking open my water. Still no response, "Not much of a talker, huh?"

"Isaac." He quietly said, "My name's Isaac." He said, eyes flicking up to meet mine. I gave him a smile.

"Nice to meet you Isaac." I said, waving my water bottle in the air. Isaac briefly smiled before looking down at his sandwich.

"Are you sure you're okay with me sitting with you?" I asked after a moment, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine." Isaac dismissively said.

"You sure?" I asked, leaning forward. Isaac leaned back, "Cause you've said about six words to me."

"I'm just surprised." Isaac admitted. I raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue, "Cause you know—you're like—" He coughed, "I saw you talking to Lydia Martin so I thought you two were friends—"

"She accosted me at my locker." I cut him off, "We are in no way friends."

"But you just seem like—"

"Seem like I should be around her and her clique?" I finished for him. Isaac nodded, eyes flicking up again. I sighed and scratched my temple, "Isaac, I know the popular girl tactics. I used to be the popular girl. I don't want to go through the fakeness, okay? I thought you seemed nice and I wanted to have a nice conversation with someone on my first day." I ranted, "But I guess not." I said, picking up my bag.

"Wait." Isaac said, hand out, "You can stay." He stopped me.

"You sure?" I asked, hesitating. Isaac nodded.

"It's fine. " He quietly said. I nodded once, sitting back down.

"Let's start over." I said. I stuck out my hand, "I'm Emma." Isaac eyed my hand. I shook it out in front of him.

"Isaac." He said, reaching over and clasping my hand.

"Nice to meet you." I said, giving him a smile. Isaac returned it. I sat back in my chair as he picked up his sandwich again.

* * *

"Dad?" I called out as I pushed open the front door.

He didn't answer. I hurried up the stairs, dropping my bag on the floor of my room as I went down the hall. His office door was closed, as a child this meant that he was writing and that he wasn't to be disturbed. But that was when I was five. I raised my fist and knocked on the door.

"Dad, I'm home." I said.

"Come on in, honey." Dad answered. I pushed the door open to see him sitting at his desk, typing away. "How was your first day?" He asked, spinning around to face me.

"Uh, it was fine." I made a face, "I was actually invited to a party on Friday."

"Friday? As in tomorrow?" Dad asked, motioning with his hand. I nodded, rocking back on my heels. "That's great!" He cried out, getting up from his chair. He pulled me into a hug and lifted me from the ground, shaking me. I laughed in spite of myself.

"Dad, put me down. It's just a party." I groaned.

"But you're making friends." Dad said as he put me back on the ground. "We should celebrate. Order food. I'll pay."

"You always pay." I laughed out, rolling my eyes. Dad gave me a wry smile.

"Proud of you, M&M." Dad lightly punched my shoulder as he walked past me to order the food.

* * *

I locked my bike up in front of the local diner later that night. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the cash Dad had given me to pay for dinner. I gave the hostess my name and she reached behind her to get the food. I paid and walked out. Simple enough. The plastic bag slipped onto my handlebar and I quickly pushed off, ready to get home.

I pedaled across the street, not paying attention, when a bright pair of headlights flashed in my perphial vision. I skidded to a stop as the car knocked into me. I tumbled off my bike and slammed on the ground, everything going dark.

* * *

There was a throbbing pain that echoed throughout my head. I groaned, raising my palm to my forehead as I heard a "Woah! Woah! Woah!" From above me.

"Ugh." I groaned out as I blinked my eyes open, "What the hell happened?"

"Oh thank God." I heard a voice whisper out.

I blinked, clearing the fuzzies out of my vision. I was on the ground. I glanced around me to see a boy standing above me, nervously looking down at me.

"You didn't answer my question." I groaned as I started to sit up. I swayed a bit, the boy steadied me.

"You came out of nowhere, I didn't even see you until it was too late. I tried to stop, I really did—"

"Your voice is just really annoying right now." I cut the kid off, closing my eyes.

"Right, sorry, my bad." He babbled.

"So you hit me with your car." I figured it out.

"I didn't mean to, I swear."

"You're making it sound like you've hit people on purpose before." I blinked, looking around.

"No! No, no no no, I haven't. Unless you count squirrels, but it wasn't on purpose! I didn't mean to kill it, I just—" I groaned. "Right, sorry." He said again.

"It's fine." I said, getting to my feet, "Where's my bike?" I asked, looking around.

I spotted it a few feet away…and the plastic bag, food spilling all out onto the road. I groaned and started over to it, and then I felt something trickle down my leg. I stopped and glanced down to see that my knee was cut open.

"Great!" I cried out and then I cringed, even my own voice hurt my head.

"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry." The boy said from behind me.

"It's fine." My voice went up an octave, "Totally fine." I started over to my bike. I yanked it up to see that the wheel was bent from where the car had hit it. I sighed and rubbed my temple as my headache returned.

"At least let me give you a ride home." The boy offered. I turned to look at him.

"Get in the car with the boy that knocked me off my bike, spilled my dinner and almost killed me?" I asked, then I scoffed, "I'll pass." I turned away from him. I started to walk home, pushing my bike next to me.

"No, wait. I'm not letting you walk home alone all banged up." The boy ran up next to me. I turned to look at him.

"Fine." I huffed out, rolling my eyes. The boy gave me an accomplished smile and started walking back to his car, which was actually a Jeep. An old, beat up, blue Jeep.

"Nice ride." I mused.

"Roscoe." He said. I raised an eyebrow, "His name is Roscoe."

"Ah." I said.

"We can put your bike in the back." He said, leading me to the back hatch. He popped open the hatch and picked up the bike, angling it in so it fit.

"Sorry about the food." He said.

"It's fine." I waved my hand in the air.

He glanced down, noticing my knee. He glanced back up at me and then went to the front of the car, coming back moments later with a bunch of napkins.

"I used to have a first aid kit, but…."

"Wow, you're really lacking as a boy scout." I quipped, taking the napkins from him, "Sorry, that was mean."

"No, it's fine. I mean I did hit you with my Jeep." He flailed his hand around. I made a face at him as I pressed the napkins to my knee.

"Let's get you home." He said after a moment. I crumpled up the napkins and went around the side of the Jeep, getting in the passenger side.

* * *

"So, do you go to BHHS?" He asked as he drove down the street. I looked at him, my foot was up against his dash as I dabbed at my knee.

"Just started." I mumbled. His eyebrows shot up.

"_You're_ Emma Gui?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah." I huffed out.

"Well…nice to meet you." He lamely said. I quickly raised my eyebrows at him as I continued to clean up my knee.

"Take a right." I directed.

"I'm Stiles." He introduced himself as he turned.

"Nice to meet you. Third house down." Stiles slowed to a stop in front of my house.

"Well, thanks for the ride." I said, pushing open the door.

"Wait." Stiles said, jumping out of the car after me. He jogged around to the back hatch and pulled my bike out. "Here." He rolled the bike up to me. I gave him a grateful smile as I took it.

"Thanks again." I said. I started walking up to my front porch, Stiles followed. I didn't say anything.

"So when did you move here?" Stiles asked, trying to make conversation.

"August." I said, glancing over at him.

"I haven't seen you around town."

"I haven't been around town." I said, grinning at him. Stiles nodded. I leaned my broken bike against the railing of the porch and pushed open the door.

"Took you long enough!" Dad's voice called out. Then he chuckled as he came around the corner. "I was about to call the—hello." He stopped and stared at Stiles. "Who are you?

"Stiles Stilinski, sir." Stiles instantly responded, going for a handshake. Dad looked confused for a moment.

"Stilinski? Are you John's son?" Dad asked.

"Uh, yeah—yes, sir." Stiles nervously said. Dad's face relaxed into a grin.

"I didn't know Stilinski had a son." Dad laughed out, taking Stiles' hand in his. "You can call me Luke." Stiles visibly relaxed as Dad shook his hand.

"Your dad and I were friends in high school." Dad explained, Stiles nodded.

"Well, I'll tell him you're back." Stiles said.

"Why don't you and your parents come over on Sunday night? It'll give us a chance to catch up. I haven't seen John and Claudia in years and you and M&M can chit-chat." Dad sighed out, hands on his hips.

"Oh, Dad, I don't think—"

"Uh, sure." Stiles cut me off, "I'll talk to him—them." Stiles instantly corrected himself. I felt my brow furrow.

"Perfect." Dad clapped Stiles on the shoulder, grinning wide.

"Dad, I think Stiles needs to—"

"Yeah, I need to get home." Stiles overlapped me, thumbing behind him, "I was just dropping Emma off. She had a little accident."

"Are you okay?" Dad instantly became protective, turning away from Stiles.

"Dad, I'm fine. It was my fault." I said, waving a hand.

"Well, thank you, son." Dad nodded at Stiles. Stiles nodded back and took a step back.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Stiles motioned at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded.

"Have a goodnight. Say hi to your parents." Dad said, walking Stiles to the door.

"Will do." Stiles nodded again and went out the front door. Dad turned around and gave me a thumbs up.

"He seems nice."

"He's weird." I said, turning around, "Do we have any food?" I asked, going into the kitchen.

"I don't know." Dad said, coming after me. I opened the fridge and grabbed a yogurt.

"I'll be in my room." I said, ripping off the top and licking it. "Yell if you need me." I said, spinning on my heel and walking out of the kitchen.

* * *

"You really shouldn't judge the kid so harshly." He said as I sat cross legged on my bed, highlighting passages.

"And why not?" I sighed, not looking up at him.

"Because he was probably just embarrassed." I glanced up at him.

"Yeah, well, he hit me with his car." I capped my highlighter. "Remember?"

"Give the kid a chance." My brother said as he lounged in my desk chair. "You gave Jenny a chance and now she's your best friend."

"Speaking of." I said, pushing my textbook off of my lap, "I have to call her." My brother chuckled and tossed his football in the air, catching it in his hands.

"Remember, you can't judge a book by its cover." He said as I grabbed my phone. I rolled my eyes as he chuckled.

* * *

Friday morning, I walked into school on a mission to find Stiles. I spotted him by his locker. I hiked up my bag and went over to him. "Hey, Stiles? Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked. He glanced up at me.

"Uh, sure. Yeah." He nodded and shut his locker door.

"I'm sorry about last night. You really don't have to come to on Sunday. That was so weird for my dad to do that."

"It's fine. My dad's pretty psyched. Apparently they were like best friends or something." Stiles explained, motioning with his hand.

"And your mom?" I asked, arm cross over my stomach.

"Uh, she's not—she's not really with us anymore." Stiles awkwardly said, scratching the side of his temple.

"Divorce?" I asked.

"Death." Stiles made a face. My stomach dropped.

"Shit." I breathed out, "I had no idea, I'm—Shit."

"It's fine." Stiles waved his hand in the air.

"No, no it isn't. God, I'm such an idiot."

"You didn't know." Stiles lamely offered.

"Cause, my parents are divorced so I just automatically assumed, but my brother said never to assume cause it makes an ass out of—"

"You and me." Stiles finished, "My dad says that all the time."

"I'm just gonna go before I make a bigger ass out of myself." I said, thumbing behind me and taking a step back.

"Hey, are you going to Lydia's tonight?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know, maybe." I shrugged, "Why is she your girlfriend or something?" I asked. Stiles blanched.

"Ha, yeah no. She's definitely not my girlfriend." Stiles wiped his upper lip with his hand.

"Ah, okay." I said, taking another step back, "Later, Stiles."

* * *

"So, Isaac, tell me something about yourself." I said as I took a bite of my apple. Isaac glanced up from his sandwich. I noticed a bruise forming under his eye, but didn't comment on it.

"I, uh, I dig graves." Isaac said, voice low. I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, that's cool." I mumbled around my apple.

"No it's not." Isaac shot me down. I made a face and took another bite of my apple. "What about you?" Isaac asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Tell me something about yourself." Isaac said, motioning with his sandwich.

"Uhm, I'm kinda boring." I said, turning my apple in my hand.

"Bullshit." Isaac mumbled out. I raised my eyebrows.

"Fine." I made my voice a bit higher, "I sing."

"That's awesome." Isaac shifted in his seat.

"I mean I used to. And then I kinda stopped."

"Why?" Isaac asked. I looked away from him. "Sorry." Isaac lamely said, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." My voice hit an octave, "Totally fine." I made a face, "It's just I uh, stopped after my brother died."

"Oh." Isaac softly said, "I'm really sorry, Emma."

"Yeah, me too."

"I lost a brother too." Isaac said after a moment, sitting up and swallowing, "He died in combat."

"Isaac…" I started.

"I just—I wanted to share that." Isaac said, motioning with his hand. I pulled my lips in and nodded. I glanced over my shoulder just as Stiles turned away from the food line. He spotted me and waved. I gave him a small smile in return.

"You're friends with Stiles?" Isaac asked.

"No, he just hit me with his car last night. We're…we're definitely not friends." I said, turning back to Isaac, "So are you going to Lydia Martin's party tonight?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Uh, no." Isaac coughed, "I wasn't invited."

"Seems like a non-invitational party." I said.

"No, she wouldn't want me there." Isaac said, "I'm not…popular."

"And you think I am?" I asked, pointing to myself.

"Well, you're beautiful and beautiful people hurt together." Isaac said. I opened my mouth to say something when a shrill voice cut me off.

"Emma!" Lydia. I cringed on the inside. "We're sitting over here!" She perkily said from above me. I glanced up at her.

"Okay." I said.

"Well, aren't you going to join us?"

"I'm already sitting with someone." I motioned to Isaac. Lydia gave him a glance before returning her green eyes to me.

"Allison's been asking about you."

"Has she." I stated.

"Come over and sit with us." Lydia made it sound more like a command than an offer. I glanced at Isaac.

"I have to actually go to the library anyway." Isaac said, pushing back from his chair.

"Great!" Lydia chirped out, "Bye!"

"Lydia!" I scolded, "Isaac, stay. It's fine."

"No, I really have to go." Isaac glanced at Lydia for a moment, "Have fun at the party, Emma."

"Bye, Isaac." I mumbled as he left.

"Well, I don't know _why_ you're hanging out the grave-digger, but I'll let it slide." Lydia said as if she was forgiving me for doing something wrong. I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath as I pushed my chair out.

"Emma!" Allison squealed as I came over with Lydia. I gave her a tight smile. "Sit! Sit!" She patted the chair next to her. "Lydia and I were just talking about tonight."

"Yeah, perfect." I said, raising my eyebrows as Allison chattered away about the party.

She was going with some kid name Scott. I could tell Lydia was wary of the kid as Allison talked. I glanced around the cafeteria, Stiles' look catching my attention. We stared at each other for a moment before he looked away, turning back to his friend, who was staring at Allison, a worried look on his face.

* * *

"Hey, honey!" Dad said as I came up the front walk.

"Hi, Dad." I suspiciously said, "Whatcha got there?" He was standing in front of something.

"I fixed your bike!" Dad cheered out, swooping aside to show me the bike, Vanna White style. I raised my eyebrows.

"Ah!" I said, being happy for him. "Thank you so much!"

"Just in time for the party tonight, huh?" Dad asked, hands on his hips as he proudly stared at the bike.

"Oh, I was just gonna walk. It's no problem." I said making a face.

"You just don't want to show up on a bike." Dad realized, a knowing grin on his face.

"No!" Dad gave me a look, "Yeah that's totally it. I mean, it's not my fault I don't know how to drive! Ben said he was gonna teach me and then—" I abruptly stopped, realizing I had gone too far.

"No, you're right." Dad softly said after a moment. "We'll get there."

"Yeah, yeah we will." I said, looking down at my shoes.

"Better go in and get ready, right?" Dad asked.

"Right." I nodded and went into the house.

* * *

"So you're going to this party?" Jenny asked from the computer screen. We had been Skyping for over an hour. I had told her about Isaac and Lydia and Allison and the party that was later that night. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"Yeah."

"Well, what are you doing talking to me?" Jenny cried out. "Go! Get ready!" I bit my lip, "Emma Renee Gui, I love you and I want you to be happy, so you need to go to this party." Jenny seriously said. I made a face. Jenny stared at me.

"Fine." I sighed, slumping down in my chair.

"Yay!" Jenny clapped, "Do you have a date?"

"Uh, no." I snorted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What about that kid who hit you?" Jenny asked. I laughed.

"Yeah, no. He's coming over for dinner on Sunday, you can thank Luke for that one." I grumbled, playing with a hairband on my desk. Jenny snorted.

"Okay, well, at least show me your outfit." I paused and glanced at her, "Emma…" She started, "Please tell me you have an outfit." Her voice got really scary. I made an_ oops_ face.

"Emma." She groaned, tipping her head back. "All right. It's fine. We can do this." She motioned with her hands, "Do you still have that paisley border print skirt?" Jenny asked.

"Of course." I said, pushing back from my desk and going over to my dresser.

"Great! Okay, pair that with your pearl oversized sweater." Jenny directed as I went over to my closet.

"Got it." I said, getting my sweater out.

"Now pair that with your dark red suede slingbacks and your belt." Jenny instructed. I undressed as I was in my closet and quickly redressed, stepping out in front of the camera. "Perfect." Jenny mused.

"You're a lifesaver." I said, flopping back in the chair.

"Leave your hair down and wear minimal makeup."

"Yes, Mom." I droned out.

"Speaking of, I have your mom for English." Jenny said.

"Great." I dryly said.

"It's gonna be fun." Jenny dragged out the word. I rolled my eyes as my phone buzzed. I picked it up to see an unknown number flash up. I clicked on the text and read it aloud.

"Emma, it's Lydia. Jackson is picking you up in fifteen minutes. Be ready." I glanced at Jenny. She laughed.

"Who the hell is Jackson?"

"Her boyfriend? Maybe?" I asked, putting my phone on the desk. "I gotta go."

"Bye, babe!" Jenny wiggled her fingers at me, "Love you!"

"Love you too." I grinned at my best friend before ending the video call.

"You look great." I heard my brother say from behind me. I spun around in my chair to see him lounging on my bed.

"Thank you." I said, standing up, "I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, it's a party, right? Just a normal high school party."

"Right…" Ben trailed off.

"M&M! Why is there a Porsche idling outside our house?" Dad called. I felt my brow furrow. I grabbed my phone, clutch and leather jacket, going out of my bedroom.

"What?" I asked as I slipped into the jacket and went down the stairs.

"There's a Porsche waiting outside." Dad mused as I got to the window he was standing in front of. I peered out to see a silver Porsche. Then my phone buzzed.

_He's outside_.

"Uh, that's my ride." I said, glancing up.

"What? I thought you were walking."

"Yeah, me too." I mumbled, "Bye, Dad." I said, kissing his cheek. He just mumbled to himself as I went out the door.

"You know the gentlemanly thing to do is to come up to the door, meet my dad, let him know I'm not getting into a car with a serial killer." I quipped as I got into the Porsche. Jackson glanced at me, eyes travelling my body and then looking back front.

"I'm Jackson." He grunted out.

"I figured as much. I'm—"

"I know who you are." He cut me off.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands together, "Let's get this stupid thing over with."

"My thoughts exactly." Jackson mumbled as he pressed his foot onto the gas.

* * *

Jackson pulled into the driveway that lead to a massive house. I let out a low whistle as Jackson cut the engine and got out of the car. I quickly followed him and hurried to catch up with him.

"Hello?" My voice hit an octave, "Girl in heels here!" I cried out.

Jackson didn't appear to care. I huffed and quickly followed after him as he went up to the front door, pushing it open. I followed after him, but Jackson had disappeared into the crowd of people. I sighed and pressed my hand to my forehead.

"Emma?" I heard someone ask from next to me. I turned to see Stiles standing there, red cup in hand.

"Hi, Stiles." I said, giving him a small smile.

"When did you get here?" He asked.

"About five seconds ago." I said, "Jackson sort of ditched me." I said, peering around the crowd. "Is he Lydia's boyfriend?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." Stiles coughed. I raised an eyebrow.

"So you don't like that." I figured.

"I've just been kinda in love with her since the third grade." Stiles motioned with his hand.

"Long time." I mused, raising my eyebrows. Stiles nodded and took a sip of his drink. "Who are you here with?" I asked.

"Uh, no one." Stiles said, looking into his cup. The conversation lulled into an awkward silence.

"Do you want to get me something to drink?" I asked, rocking back on my heels.

"Yes, yes I would love to." Stiles furiously nodded and turned away, scrubbing his hand over his head. I followed him into the kitchen where he grabbed the keg pump and poured me some beer into a red cup.

"Thank you." I said, giving him a sly smile as I took the cup from his hands.

"Anytime."

"Emma!" I heard Allison cheer out from behind me. I turned to look at the girl.

"Hi!" She said, grabbing me into a hug. I was surprised at first, but quickly hugged the girl back.

"Hi, Allison." I said, giving her a warm smile.

"Oh, this is Scott!" Allison said, motioning to a nervous looking boy standing next to her. He reminded me of a lost puppy. I gave him a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Scott." I said, raising my cup to him.

"You should come dance with us!" Allison said, grabbing my hand.

"Oh, no, I don't—"

"Come on." Allison pulled me towards her.

I glanced back at Stiles and made a face as Allison dragged me out of the kitchen. I followed the couple out to the backyard where there was music pumping and people dancing. I saw Jackson and Lydia by the column, Jackson nipping at her neck as Lydia swiveled her hips. Lydia and I held gaze as I moved my body to the music, Allison and Scott in their own little world. Lydia looked away from me, down at Jackson as I felt some random come up behind me, moving his body against mine. I took a step away from him, turning around.

"No." I said, shaking my head.

"Come on." The guy said, coming towards me.

"No, I said no." I pushed him away. "God." I scoffed out, moving past him and going through the crowd.

Allison and Scott were dancing pretty close to each other before Scott flinched in pain. I raised my eyebrows and watched them as I swayed from side to side to the beat. And then Scott pushed away from Allison, pushing through the crowd. Allison stopped for a moment before running after him.

"Scott!" She cried out, running past me.

"Allison!" I grabbed her arm, "What happened?"

"I don't—I don't know! We were dancing and then he just started groaning and then he ran off! I have to make sure he's okay."

"I'll go with you." I said, nodding.

Allison returned the nod and we pushed through the crowd. I got outside with her just in time to see Scott get into his car and speed away. She sighed and turned to me.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I haven't the slightest clue." I sighed out, crossing my arms.

"Allison." An unfamiliar voice said from behind us. We turned to see a man dressed in a leather jacket giving us a friendly smile, "I'm a friend of Scott's. He wasn't feeling well and asked me to take you home." The man charmingly said, hands stuffed into his pockets. "My name's Derek Hale." Allison and I shared a look. He looked decent enough.

"I don't want to be too much trouble." Allison said after a moment.

"I'll take both of you home, if that makes you feel better." Derek shot us a grin. Allison looked to me, I shrugged. "It's really not a problem." Derek shot another smile at the two of us. Allison nodded and we followed him to his car.

* * *

Derek dropped Allison off first. And then it was just me and Derek. I glanced around my surroundings, tapping my finger on my knee to the beat of the song that was playing.

"Did you have a good time?" Derek asked.

"What?" I asked, looking at him. Derek glanced at me.

"Just asking." He said.

"It was fine." I blinked, "I guess, I mean, yeah." I glanced at Derek, noticing his hands on the steering wheel.

"Your middle finger is the same length as your forefinger." I casually mentioned. Derek flexed his right hand that was resting on the steering wheel.

"Ah, yeah. Family trait."

"Some people believe that it means you're a werewolf." I explained, not looking at Derek. I could feel Derek's eyes on me as we chilled at a stop light.

"And what do you think?" Derek asked after a moment.

"Green." I said.

"What?" Derek asked.

"The light. The light is green." I tilted my head to the light as I glanced at him, "_Go_."

Derek fumed for a moment before driving through the light. He stayed silent for the rest of ride home. I directed him where to go, letting him pull up to my house a few minutes later.

"Thanks." I said, pushing the door open.

"Hey, Emma." Derek stopped me. I bent down to the window so I could see his face, "Be careful tonight."

"How do you know my name?" I asked, brow furrowing. I was pretty sure I didn't tell him it at all during the car ride. Derek didn't answer, just gave me another charming grin.

"See you around." He said, before pulling away from the curb. I blinked after his Camaro sped down the street.

"Well, he seemed weird." Ben said, standing next to me.

"What happened to _don't judge a book by its cover?_" I asked, staring down the empty street. .

"No, he's weird. What kind of twentysomething year old lurks around a high school party?" Ben asked. I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged. Then I sighed, rocked back on my heels and went towards my house.

* * *

Dad was asleep on the couch, book on his stomach, glasses on his face as he snored peacefully. I quirked the corner of my mouth up and shrugged out of my jacket. I grabbed one of the blankets off of the other couch and gently placed it over him. I reached up and took his glasses off of his face, folding them and putting them on the nightstand. I kissed his forehead before turning off the living room light and going into the kitchen.

"I'm proud of you." Ben said as he sat on the counter.

"_Really?_" I skeptically asked, "And why is that?" I got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water.

"When you were dancing, you pushed off that creeper. If I was there, I would've punched him in the face." He said, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Protective older brother even in the afterlife." I joked, smiling to myself. Ben grinned at me. I sipped my water, trying to hide my smile.

"You did good tonight." Ben nodded at me, "You're slowly moving on. I like it."

"I don't." I quietly said.

"Hey, just because you're moving on, doesn't mean you're forgetting." Ben pointed out. I nodded, "Keep your chin up, kiddo. I'm right here."

I gave him a small smile and wiped my eyes with my hand. I let out a shaky breath as I placed my hands on the edge of the kitchen sink. The kitchen light surrounded me as I stood in the kitchen alone, staring into the empty sink, water in one hand. There I was, alone, talking to my dead brother. That's not crazy, right?


	2. Chapter 2

I set the plates on top of the placemats as Dad worked in the kitchen. The glasses were set along with the forks and knives. We were setting up for dinner with the Stilinskis. I had already told Dad about Mrs. Stilinski's passing so he didn't make it awkward. Dad was pretty torn, but once he got into the kitchen, he was slowly relaxing. He was singing and dancing along with some classic rock song he had blaring.

"C'mon M&M, sing for me!" Dad cheered as he sang into a spatula. I rolled my eyes as I set another plate down.

"Baby, we were born to run!" Dad shouted into his spatula, making a face and pointing at me. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Come on, Emma. Sing for him." Ben encouraged as he put his feet up on the table. I rolled my eyes as I heard a knock on the door.

"Dad, they're here!" I said, putting the last plate down as one of the Stilinskis knocked again. Dad was still lip-singing the lyrics as I went over to the door.

"Dad!" I shouted.

"Oh, right." Dad turned off the music and came over to the door, opening it. Mr. Stilinski and Stiles stood on the front porch. Stiles had his hands in his pockets and Mr. Stilinski had a bottle of wine in his.

"John!" Dad cheered out. Mr. Stilinski chuckled, a grin spreading across his face. The two of them embraced, patting each other's backs.

"It's good to see you, Luke." Mr. Stilinski said as they stepped back. "You look good."

"So do you." Dad said, shaking Mr. Stilinski's shoulder.

"This is my son, Stiles." Mr. Stilinski said, motioning to Stiles.

"We've met. It's nice to see you again, son." Dad nodded at Stiles. Stiles gave him a smile, eyes darting to me.

"And this is my daughter, Emma." Dad put his hand on my shoulder, shaking my torso.

"Hi, Mr. Stilinski." I said, giving him a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Emma." Mr. Stilinski returned the smile. There was a beep from the kitchen.

"That's dinner." Dad grinned at me, "Come on in, guys. Get yourselves settled."

Mr. Stilinski and Stiles both came inside the house. Mr. Stilinski followed Dad into the kitchen, talking about whatever they talked about. Stiles ambled up to me.

"Get ready for a night of lame jokes." I sighed, hands on my hips.

"Mostly from my dad's side." Stiles added, crossing his arms. I glanced at him, giving him a wry smile.

"Come on. I'll get _you_ something to drink." I said, motioning with my head towards the kitchen. Stiles gave me an amused smile.

* * *

"Almost didn't recognize the place." Mr. Stilinski was saying as I stabbed my asparagus. "You really fixed it up." He motioned with his fork, "When your dad and I were teens, we went up to the roof, his mom was so freaked that we would fall."

"You forgot to mention the part where we would drink and smoke pot." Dad added. Stiles choked on his chicken. I choked on my asparagus.

"You smoked-?" He gasped out.

"Pot?" I gasped out, overlapping Stiles.

"Yeah, when we were sixteen." Mr. Stilinski chuckled. I shared a look with Stiles.

"Do you still have that car memorabilia?" Dad asked. I glanced at him, "We used to go to car shows every weekend, take pictures of our dream cars."

"Probably in the attic somewhere." Mr. Stilinski answered, "Claudia wanted to get rid of it, but I didn't let her." Dad grinned at Mr. Stilinski.

"I heard about her passing." Dad awkwardly said. I glanced at Stiles to see a quick look of pain flash across his features.

"Yeah, but it was—it was her time. She was done suffering." Mr. Stilinski said. Dad nodded and gave his friend a small smile.

"I, uh, read your book." Mr. Stilinski said after a moment, shifting in his seat, "Both of them actually. I knew you had it in you, but damn, Luke, they were amazing."

"Ah, thank you." Dad embarrassedly said.

"We have them on the shelf in the living room, Claudia got to read the first one, and she really enjoyed it." Mr. Stilinski nodded.

"The highest praise I can receive." Dad smiled at Mr. Stilinski.

"How's Samantha? Is she working at the high school?" Mr. Stilinski asked.

"Uh—" Dad coughed, "She's actually back in Connecticut. We decided to separate." I stabbed my chicken as Stiles gave me an eyebrow raise. Mr. Stilinski sat back in his seat.

"Huh. Well, you know what, it's probably for the best." Mr. Stilinski said, "And Ben? He must be in college by now. What's he up to?" I paused, pulling my lips in. I felt Stiles kick my leg. I looked up at him. He gave me a raised eyebrow again, this time more of an _are you okay?_

"Ben was actually in an accident a couple months ago." Dad coughed, "He—he passed." I swallowed, avoiding Stiles' pity look.

"Luke, I had no idea." Mr. Stilinski said, running his hand over his head, "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah." Dad swallowed and nodded. He glanced at me. I pulled my lips in.

"So, Luke, do you know anything about lacrosse?" Stiles asked, after a moment getting Dad's attention.

"A few random facts, do you play?" Dad asked.

"Uh, yeah. Well, not really, I usually sit on the bench, but I'm at all the games and practices." Stiles motioned with his fork.

"That's good though. You're only a sophomore, you'll get there." Dad nodded at Stiles. And the conversation went from there. Mr. Stilinski and Dad directing most of it. I looked over to Stiles.

"Thank you." I mouthed to him. Stiles nodded at me before stabbing a piece of asparagus.

* * *

I scrubbed the plate clean before handing it over to Stiles, who had a dish towel in his hand. He took it from me and dried off the plate. We were getting into a rhythm. Dad and Mr. Stilinski had gone into the living room to talk about something or other, beers in hand.

"I'm sorry about your brother." Stiles said after a moment.

"Me too." I said, glancing at him.

"Can I ask what happened?" Stiles asked.

"You can, but I don't think I'm really ready to talk about it." I said, screwing up my face. Stiles nodded.

"I understand."

"But thanks, for that subject change during dinner." I said, nodding at him and handing him another plate, "I appreciate it."

"No problem." Stiles made a face. "Hey, who drove you home on Friday?" Stiles innocently asked.

"Uh, one of Scott's friends." I said, "Weird guy."

"Did he have a name?" Stiles asked.

"Derek Hale?" I glanced at Stiles, "Do you know him?"

"Not really. His family all burned to death in a fire like six years ago." I made a face.

"Oooo, that sucks." I said, shaking my head. Stiles chuckled as he took a glass from my hand.

"Yeah." Stiles paused, "Did he say anything to you?"

"Uh, a little—"

"What did he talk to you about?"

"I don't know—he asked me if I had a good time." I said, resting my hands on the edge of the sink, "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, yup, totally." Stiles bobbed his head, pulling in his lips as he nodded. I nodded too.

"Are you friends with Scott?" I asked, getting back to washing the dishes.

"Yeah, we've been friends for like six years. He gave me half of his sandwich for half of mine."

"Sounds like me and my friend, Jenny." I said, grinning at him. "Except it was the dress-up box."

"Ah." Stiles said as I made a face and nodded. Then I laughed.

"This is good for him." I said, motioning to the living room, "He doesn't have a lot of friends."

"Yeah, same." Stiles shot me a grin, "I'm surprised he was able to stay this long. Usually he's on call like all the time."

"On call?" I asked, brow furrowing.

"My dad's the Sheriff." Stiles explained. I opened my mouth and let an "Oh." As I scrubbed another plate. "Are you, uh, friendly with Lydia?" Stiles asked as I handed him the plate.

"I don't—I don't know." I said, furrowing my brow.

"What?" Stiles asked, an amused smile appearing, "How do you not know?"

"Cause she kinda just like, adopted me? Without my consent though." I added as a side-note.

"Ah." Stiles grinned at me, nodding. I rolled my eyes.

"So what did you do on Friday?" I asked, "I didn't see you at all after Allison grabbed me."

"Scott was actually feeling pretty sick, so I left early to check up on him." Stiles nodded at me. I moved away from him. "What?" He asked.

"I don't want to get sick."

"Oh, you won't. It's not contagious." He blinked, "At least in that sense." He was hiding something.

"I better not." I said, pointing a fork at him. Stiles chuckled and grabbed the fork from my soapy hands.

"Hey, buddy." Mr. Stilinski came back into the kitchen.

"You two having fun?" Dad asked as he leaned on the counter.

"Loads." I said, picking up the soap bubbles and letting them fall from my hands.

"I can tell." Dad winked at me.

"How was catching up?" Stiles asked as I handed him one of the last of the dishes.

"Great. It was nice." Mr. Stilinski said, patting Dad's shoulder, "Your Dad was a wild one back then."

"You were right beside me." Dad joked. Stiles and I shared an amused look. "I like this. I think we should make this a weekly thing."

"Oh, no—" Mr. Stilinski started.

"No, hear me out, John." Dad pointed his beer bottle at Mr. Stilinski, "Next week we're at your house and then we switch back and forth." Mr. Stilinski thought it over before glancing at his son.

"Stiles? What do you think?" Stiles looked at me. I shrugged.

"I mean, I'm fine with it. Just don't expect anything fancy." Stiles said, glancing from me to Dad. Dad chuckled.

"I'll keep my hopes down." Dad said before sipping his beer. Mr. Stilinski chuckled. I shook my head as I handed Stiles the last glass.

"C'mon, buddy. We've over stayed our welcome." Mr. Stilinski said, setting his beer on the counter. Stiles glanced at me.

"You're welcome anytime." Dad said, clapping Mr. Stilinski on the back.

"We'll see you Sunday." Mr. Stilinski chuckled as Stiles put the glass away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Stiles said, shutting the cabinet door.

"Later." I said as I fumbled around for the sink plug.

"Thanks for dinner, Luke. It was really good." Stiles said, shaking hands with Dad.

"Anytime." Dad nodded at Stiles and walked the two of them to the door.

"That went well." Ben mused from his position on the counter, "Still think he's weird?" I paused as I pulled the sink plug out of the sink.

"Maybe just hyperactive." I mused, pulling down the corners of my lips. "He's a nice enough kid."

"Told ya." Ben said, swinging his legs around the counter. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"And what about Derek?" I asked.

"What about who?" Dad asked, coming back into the kitchen.

"Just talking to myself." I said, grinning at Dad as Ben smirked at me.

"What'd you think?" Dad asked, spreading his arms wide.

"I think that you were a crazy kid back in the day." I said, rinsing off my hands. Dad chuckled.

"I think it went well." I added, smiling at him, "Mr. Stilinski seems nice. I can see how you two were friends." I nodded. Dad grinned at me.

"Good." Dad nodded, hands on his hips, "And what about Stiles?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What about Stiles?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Do you like him?"

"I mean, I guess." I blinked, "That was like one of our first interactions."

"Seemed like you liked him. I heard you two laughing out here."

"Yeah, at you two." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Dad chuckled. "I have homework, so I'll be upstairs." I said, turning off the sink and drying my hands.

"Sounds good." Dad kissed the top of my head as I walked past him and towards the stairs.

* * *

I walked next to Allison as we walked outside, waiting for her dad to come pick us up. She had invited me over her house late on Sunday. I had accepted the invitation and walked to school the next day.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Allison asked as I put my hand on my bag strap and Allison pushed open the door.

"It was kinda chill. Did some homework, Stiles and his dad came over for dinner."

"Why did they do that?" Allison asked, giving me a confused look.

"Our dads grew up together." I explained, nodding. Allison let out an "Ah."

"Sounds fun." She added, grinning at me.

"It was all right." I nodded to myself.

"Hey, have you spoken to Scott?" Allison changed the subject.

"Nope. Didn't see him all day." I said, rolling my lips in, "Why?" We were going down the stairs now.

"He just left me hanging at Lydia's and never told me what happened." Allison slumped forward. I glanced around the outside.

"Well, there he is now." I motioned to Scott, who was sitting on the bench in his lacrosse gear. "Ask him." Allison glanced at me before nodding. She walked by Scott, who instantly got to his feet.

"So what happened? You left me _stranded_ at the party." Allison said. I cringed. That was a little harsh.

"Yeah, I—I know and I'm really sorry." Scott started, butting in between me and Allison, "I am, but you're gonna have to trust that I had a really good reason."

"Did you get sick?" Allison asked.

"Definitely an attack of something." Scott vaguely said. I felt my brow furrow. Allison stopped walking and looked at the kid.

"Am I gonna get an explanation?" She asked.

"Can you just find it in your heart to trust me on this one?" Scott asked. Allison looked down, then over his shoulder at me. I shrugged.

"Am I gonna regret this?" She asked.

"Probably." Scott admitted. Allison laughed.

"So is that a yes on a second chance?" Scott asked, stepping closer to Allison.

"Definite yes." Allison grinned at Scott. Then a car horn honked, getting all of our attention.

"That's my dad." Allison sighed out. Mr. Argent came around the front and grinned at us. "C'mon, Emma." Allison tilted her head towards the car before walking away. I saw Scott visibly pale as Mr. Argent opened the door for Allison.

"You good?" I asked. Scott blinked at me.

"Uh, yeah, yeah totally. See you tomorrow." He quickly said before hurrying off. I made a face before falling back on my foot and hurrying over to the red SUV.

* * *

I followed Allison up the steps to her house. Her massive house. I let out a low whistle as Allison gave an embarrassed laugh. Then the two of us entered the house, which was possibly bigger on the inside.

"Your house…is really big." I received an embarrassed smile from Mr. Argent, which seemed to soften his features a bit.

"We're gonna go upstairs." Allison finally said after a moment. Mr. Argent nodded.

"Let me know if you girls want any snacks. I just made a fresh batch of cookies." A woman said as she exited the kitchen. She had sharp cheekbones and red hair that was cut short. I figured that it was Allison's mom. Allison nodded and jogged up the staircase. I had no choice but to follow.

"I thought you said you've been here for a month." I blurted out as Allison opened her bedroom door. There were unpacked boxes scattered around the room along with discarded items.

"Yeah, I take a while to unpack." Allison sighed. She dropped her books on her desk and then settled into her chair. I sat on her bed, looking around her room.

"This is all very cool." I commented. Allison laughed. "Your parents are nice." I offered. "Your dad's a _dilf_." I added.

"Oh, ew!" Allison laughed, cringing on the inside.

"Just saying." I said, pulling up my shoulders. Allison rolled her eyes. "So what's up?" I asked as I sat down on her bed. I glanced into one of the boxes where there were various folders.

"I figured we could talk. We haven't really been able to with Lydia and everything."

"What do you wanna know?" I asked, lazily flipping through one of the folders.

"Anything." Allison laughed, "Where did you move from?"

"Connecticut." I mumbled, looking through her photos.

"Is it just you and your parents?" Allison asked. I looked up at her.

"Uh, just me and my dad." I coughed, "My parents got separated about a month ago." I nodded to myself. Allison pulled her lips in and awkwardly looked away.

"Do you have any siblings?" Allison asked.

"Not anymore." I said, closing the folder. Allison looked confused, "My brother died three months ago." I admitted. Allison's confused look morphed into one of pity.

"Oh, Emma…" She started. That's how they all started, with that sigh of pity and my name.

"It's fine. I'm fine." I lied, putting on a happy face. Allison gave me puppy dog eyes, "What about you and Scott?" I asked, voice hitting an octave, "You're giving him another chance?"

"Yeah." Allison relaxed, giving me a smile, "I don't know." She shrugged.

"Do you like him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess…what do you think about him?"

"He reminds me of a nervous puppy." I said, "Like he's always gotta pee and stuff." Allison laughed at that. I smirked at her as she laughed at my joke.

"Did you draw this?" I asked, flipping over a piece of paper with a bunch of fruit on it.

"Ah, yeah." Allison said, getting embarrassed, "It's really bad isn't it?" She laughed.

"No! I mean, I can't even draw a stick figure, so…." I trailed off and put the paper back in the box.

"Yeah, I wasn't very good at it." Allison chuckled and shook her head.

"So what are you good at?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I will show you, but you have to promise not to laugh." Allison pointed at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, okay." I sighed, getting up.

Allison led me to the garage as she talked, "I was nationally ranked as a kid and my Dad really wanted me to go on, but…" She shook her head. Then she glanced at me. "Promise you won't laugh?" She asked. I glanced around the garage.

"Yep." I nodded. I glanced at Allison as she popped up, holding something dangerous looking in her hands

"Jesus!" I cried, putting my hands up, "What the hell is that?" I asked.

"It's a compound bow." She grinned at me, "And I'm pretty sure it's only lethal when it has an arrow in it." She joked. I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, great, so you shoot things." I said, lowering my hands as she lowered the bow.

"Not living things. Just like targets and stuff. I don't know, I haven't done it in years." Allison shrugged. I looked over the SUV to see a wall of guns behind a gate. I let out a low whistle. Allison caught sight of what I was looking at and gave an embarrassed laugh.

"So I guess I should explain." Allison sighed as she stepped forward, "We're not some sort of separatist gun-nut family. My dad sells firearms to law enforcement." She grandiosely gestured to the wall of weaponry. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh, that's good." I mumbled.

"Yeah." Allison laughed, rocking back on her heels. "It's a little weird."

"Just a little." I instantly said, grinning at the girl. I was beginning to like her.

* * *

"So am I allowed to sit with you?" I asked Isaac as we went through the lunch line. His chin was all scratched up and his fingers were raw.

"It's up to Lydia." Isaac mumbled out as I grabbed a boxed salad.

"Lydia doesn't control me. I can sit with whoever I want to sit with." I said as I shook the salad.

"Emma!" Lydia trilled, her voice echoing through the cafeteria. "We're over here!" She was waving at me. I glanced at her and then back to Isaac who was giving me an _I told you so_ look. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever." I groaned, following him.

"So how was the party?" Isaac asked as we weaved through the tables.

"You didn't miss much." I said, making a face and shrugging.

"You don't have to play it off to make me feel better." Isaac said, throwing me a grin.

"Uh, I'm _not_." I said, "It really wasn't anything great." I made the same face and sat down across from Isaac.

"What are you doing?" Isaac paused.

"Sitting with you?" I asked, hesitating.

"But Lydia called you over…"

"I thought we covered the fact that Lydia doesn't control me." I sighed, slumping into my chair.

"She's gonna kill you." Isaac sang out. I rolled my eyes as I stabbed my salad.

* * *

"I think someone in his family abuses him." I said as I swayed on my chair. Jenny chewed her bottom lip.

"Have you asked him about it?" Jenny asked.

"_No_." I scoffed, "How would I bring that one up? Hey, does your father abuse you?" I snorted, "Yeah, no."

"Maybe you should tell someone." Jenny nervously said, "I mean, he could get seriously hurt."

"I barely know the kid." I sighed out, slumping down in my chair.

"Hey, I talked to your mom today." Jenny changed the subject.

"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She tells me you've been avoiding her calls." Jenny said, elbows on the desk, "Know anything about that?"

"Mmmm, can't say I do." I said, lifting my chin. Jenny laughed and shook her head.

"Emmy, you're gonna have to talk to her." Jenny said. I shook my head.

"No, no I don't. Not after what she did. What she said." I said, leaning forward. Jenny sighed.

"Whatever. Listen can you help me with this Math problem now?" She asked, pulling her notebook over.

"Sure." I said, flipping open my notebook. "Go for it."

Jenny rattled off the problem, roots and all. I worked on it as she tried to figure it out. I had _I Got A Girl _by Tripping Daisy playing from my stereo and absentmindly started to sing along to the song.

"Emma." Jenny's voice made me look up.

"What?" I asked, brushing a loose hair from my face.

"You were singing."

"No, I wasn't." I laughed and shook my head. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"I specifically heard _I Got A Girl_ coming out of your mouth." Jenny waved her pencil in the air, an amused smile tugging at her lips. I shook my head.

"No." I said, shaking my head, "The answer's 4." I said, looking over my work. Jenny looked down at her notebook and I saw her brow furrow. Then she relaxed as she figured it out.

"Jenny!" I heard her mom's voice call out, "Shut it down in there!" Jenny blew out a breath.

"I'll talk to you later." Jenny sighed.

"Later." I said, flipping my notebook closed and ending the video call.

* * *

"Emma!" I heard a familiar high-pitched voice call out as I walked down the hall on Friday morning. I sighed and stopped, slumping down as Lydia came hurrying up to.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Lydia asked.

"If I say no, will you still talk?" I asked, squinting an eye at the girl.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Lydia asked, "I'm just trying to be nice."

"No, you're trying to be manipulative. I know your type, Lydia. The cute, popular girl who takes all the newbies under her wing, learn their secrets and then squashes them like a bug." I said. Lydia looked around herself.

"Why do you think that?" She asked, looking back at me.

"Because I used to be one of those girls." I sighed. Lydia looked uncomfortable.

"Well, I'm sorry I wasted your time." She chirped out, spinning away from me, hair flouncing as she bounced away. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up, groaning as I went after the girl.

"Lydia, I wouldn't mind being your friend." I tried to convince her as I went up to her, "It's just weird being here when I already have friends back home and—"

"This is your home now." Lydia whirled on me, "And if you don't like it, too bad." She snapped out, "Now, I'm _trying_ to help you float in this high school, but if you keep hanging out that grave-digger…you might as well let him help you dig your grave. It's social suicide, Emma!" Lydia trilled out. I flinched at the word, but composed myself. Lydia huffed out a sigh and gripped her bag with her hand.

"Anyway." She sighed out, "Do you know where Allison is?"

"No, but I'm on my way to French. Do you want me to relay a message?" I asked, hiking up my bag on my shoulder.

"You should probably let her know that her little _thing_ isn't playing in tomorrow's game." Lydia said. I figured she was talking about Scott.

"A'ight." I said, nodding at the red-head. "I'll pass on the message." I took a step back from Lydia. Lydia gave me a perky smile.

"Thanks, Emma!" She chirped out before whirling around and bouncing down the hall. I sighed and walked into my class, sliding into my seat, just as Allison came in.

* * *

"Lydia m'a dit de te dire quelque chose." I said. _Lydia told me to tell you something._

Allison and I had paired up for our conversation. We spent the period talking to each other in French, trying to enhance our conversing abilities and mental translation. Allison and I had our desks pushed together so we were across from each other.

"Quoi?" Allison replied. _What?_

"Uh, Il ya une rumeur que Scott, uhm… n'est pas jouer demain." I answered her. It roughly translated to _There is a rumor that Scott is not playing tomorrow_. It took Allison a moment to figure out what I was saying. Then she gave me a confused look.

"Pourquoi?" _Why?_

I shrugged, "C'est tout ce Lydia m'a dit." _That's all Lydia told me_.

Allison slumped down in her seat and tapped her pen on the desk, then she sat back up, "Que vous voulez pour sortir…ah….venir avec nous demain? Après le match?" _You want to come out with us tomorrow? After the game?_

"Qui va?" I asked. It roughly translated to _Who's going?_

Allison opened her mouth to respond when the bell rang. I pushed my desk back into the row as Allison stood up. I slung my bag over my shoulder and followed her to the front of the room.

"You're really good at French." Allison commented.

"Ah, thanks." I blushed, "It's just one of those languages, I guess. My family's French and my grandparents used to speak to us in French all the time." I explained, swinging my hips to face Allison.

"That's cool." Allison grinned at me, "But for tomorrow, it's just gonna be me, you, Lydia, Jackson, Scott and I told him to invite Stiles."

"I'll think about it." I said, screwing up my face.

"Allison!" Lydia cried out, coming over to us, two boys behind her. "This is Aaron." She introduced the first one to Allison and then turned to me, "And this is Nick." She said, motioning to the other boy. "They're starting line on Saturday. We were just talking about how you two are new here."

"Where'd you move from?" Nick asked. I vaguely recognized him from somewhere.

"Uh, Connecticut." I mumbled. Then it hit me, he was the guy from Lydia's party. I narrowed my eyes at him as he gave me an easy grin.

"Do you like it here?" He asked.

"It's definitely not what I was expecting." I crossed my arms and glanced around to see Stiles staring at us.

He looked away, caught in the act and hurried down the hall. I caught sight of Scott coming towards us. Lydia did too. She grabbed Aaron and Nick by their hands and led them away from Allison and me, Allison giving a friendly smile goodbye.

"Hey." She said, turning as Scott came up to us.

"So Lydia's introducing you to everyone?" Scott asked, glancing at the two of us.

"She's being so unbelievably nice to me." Allison happily said.

"I wonder why." Scott grumbled out.

"Maybe she gets how much being the new girl can suck." Allison laughed and glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Where did you get that?" Scott suddenly asked, motioning to Allison's jacket, which was draped on her arm.

"My jacket? It was in my locker. I think Lydia brought it back from the party. She has my combination—"

"Did she say she brought it back or did somebody give her the jacket?"

"Like who?" Allison asked.

"Like Derek."

"Your friend?" I piped up. Scott glared at me.

"He's not my friend." Scott growled out. I felt my brow furrow. "How much did you talk to him when he drove you home?"

"Mmm, not much at all." Allison said, becoming aware of Scott's freak out.

"What did you say?" Scott urged.

"I gotta get to class." Allison said after a moment, giving Scott a weird smile.

"Allison—" Scott started, but Allison grabbed my elbow and turned me away from him.

"No, I really have to go." She called out over her shoulder, pulling me down the hall. I glanced over my shoulder to see Scott's jaw click. I felt a pang of pity for the kid, but he was being a little too Liam Neeson for my taste.

* * *

"Hey, M&M, don't forget to get your flu shot today." Dad said as he knocked on my door. I groaned.

"I hate those things." I said.

"You gotta do it." Dad reminded me. "Before work?"

"_Fine._" I got to my feet, pushing my feet into my shoes, "Then I have to go, like, now." Dad chuckled and let me pass as I went under his arm.

* * *

I rubbed my shoulder as I walked out of the doctor's room. I hated needles. I hated needles and flu shots. I lifted up my sleeve to see the Batman band-aid slapped onto my skin where they had poked me with the shot. I went over to the desk and signed myself out. And then I heard a voice,

"You probably don't remember me…uhm…I sit behind you in Biology." Stiles was saying to the red-head. I surreptitiously glanced over to see Stiles leaning against the wall, talking to Lydia. I continued to listen as Stiles waggled his fingers in the air and nervously fidgeted. Lydia looked like she was paying attention to him.

"Uh, anyway, I always thought that we just had this kinda connection." This poor boy.

"Maybe it would be kinda cool to uh, get to know each other a little better." Stiles finished as Lydia smiled up at him. Then she pushed her hair back behind her ear, revealing an earpiece. I turned my head away to face the clipboard as an amused smile tugged at the corners of my lips

"I didn't get any of what you were just saying…was it worth repeating?" Lydia bluntly asked, squinting at Stiles. Stiles blanched and looked utterly embarrassed.

"Uhm, no." He swallowed and shook his head, "Sorry."

Stiles pushed off the wall and for a moment I felt sorry for the poor kid. He had just poured his heart to the girl who would never give him the time of day. With a click of the pen, I stepped back from the counter. I stepped back as Jackson came out of his hospital room. He slammed into my shoulder. I gave him a look of disgust as he went up to Lydia.

"Did he do it?" Lydia asked.

"He said not to make a habit of it, but one cortisone shot won't kill me." Jackson rubbed his shoulder.

"You should get one right before the game too." Lydia advised, "The pros do it all the time. You want to be a little high school amateur? Or do you want to go… Pro?" She asked, leaning into Jackson. And then they started to make out, right in the middle of the hospital. I gave the couple a disgusted look. Stiles caught my eye and his eyebrows shot up. I waved to him and slipped around Lydia and Jackson.

"Hey, Stiles." I said, giving him a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" He blurted out.

"Uh, flu shot." I said, lifting up my sleeve to show him the band-aid.

"That's a sweet band-aid." Stiles mused, nodding at me.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked, peering at the pamphlet in Stiles' lap.

"Oh, uhm, nothing." Stiles said, trying to cover it up. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"So third grade." I stated, "You've been obsessed with Lydia since third grade and you decided that when you saw her at the hospital, you would tell her you had a _connection_." I pretended to swoon. Stiles paled.

"You heard that?" He swallowed loudly.

"How long have you been practicing that?" I asked, giving him a grin.

"Not long…was it really that bad?" Stiles whispered out.

"Yeah, yeah it was. Uh, next time, make sure she's _actually_ paying attention." I said, rolling forward on my toes.

"Got it." Stiles awkwardly said, pointing a finger gun at me. He shifted in his seat.

"Well, I gotta go." I said, swaying my hips, "But this was fun."

"For you." He mumbled as he ran his hand over his mouth. I rolled my eyes.

"Later, Stiles."

"See ya, Emma." Stiles said as I walked out of the hospital. I got onto my bike and started off to work, getting there two minutes before my shift started.

* * *

I placed the movies back on the shelf, going down the line as I went. I was alone, rarely anyone ever came into the store, but it paid well. It was just me and one other guy who worked nights with me. He was doing something in the back. I placed the last movie that was cradled in my arms on the shelf as the door chimed open. I saw a leather-jacketed back move through the store. I sighed and went up to the counter, getting ready to ring the customer up.

"Emma." Derek Hale came up to the counter, movie in hand as he gave me a charming smile.

"I still don't know how you know my name." I said, leaning my elbows on the counter. Derek just smiled at me. "All right." I said, standing up and taking the movie from his hand, "Find everything okay?"

"Yup." Derek nodded. I glanced down to see what he had rented.

"_The Wolf Man_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you have a problem with my cinematic interests?" Derek asked, leaning on the counter. I quickly raised my eyebrows as I scanned the movie.

"No, I'm just appreciating your respect for an undisputed horror classic." I simply said, tapping on the screen. "Five dollars." I glance up at Derek, who was grinning at me. I handed him his movie and the receipt.

"Due back on Wednesday." I said. Derek nodded at me and saluted me with the DVD case before walking back.

"Wait, Derek." I called out, getting his attention and acting on my courage. "What are you doing with Scott?" I asked.

"Just helping him out." Derek said.

"With what? Homework?" I asked, brow furrowing.

"You could say that." Derek vaguely said, giving me a grin. I rolled back on my heels as Derek turned and walked out of the store. I tapped my hands on the counter before turning away and going back to the cart to get another armful of movies.

"He's hiding something." Ben said as I set a movie on the shelf.

"I know." I mused, looking at the door, "And I'm gonna find out what it is."

* * *

"Dad! I'm leaving!" I called out as I ran down the stairs. I was in my t-shirt and shorts, sneakers on my feet and earbuds wrapped around my neck. "Do you want me to pick up anything on the way home?" I asked.

"Nope!" Dad called back, poking his head out of the kitchen, "Have a good ride."

"Thanks." I said as I put one earbud in and went out the door. I grabbed my bike from the porch and rolled it down the stairs, pushing off as I got to the driveway and mounting as I rolled away.

I biked through the small town. Every Saturday afternoon, I took a bike ride through town. I passed by the shops and businesses, making my way to the trail that went through the woods. I had my music blasting as I pedaled through the woods, bouncing along the path. My bike wasn't a mountain bike, but it did the trick. I came across the street divide that separated the two edges of the woods. I biked across, not paying attention when I heard a high pitched squeal and then something slammed into my side. I tumbled off of the bike, seething in pain as I rolled on the ground.

"Oh, crap!" I heard a familiar voice say.

"Jesus." I groaned out as I clutched my side.

"Emma! Oh, God, not again." Stiles said, face appearing above me. I groaned.

"Dammit, Stiles!" I cried out, waving my hand at him. Stiles hands his hands on his hips and blew out a breath.

"This time it was totally my fault. I wasn't paying attention. I was on the phone and—and then you just came out of nowhere!" He fumbled.

"Sounds familiar." I grimaced as I sat up on my elbows.

"I'm so sorry." Stiles said, helping me to my feet, "I'll take you home." He nodded at me. I gave him a look.

"At least my bike isn't dented again." I mumbled, limping over to it and picking it up.

"Emma, I'm so sorry." Stiles said again, "I really didn't mean—"

"I know." I grumbled, wincing. "Just take me home." I said, limping to the back hatch. Stiles helped me put my bike in the trunk. I went around the passenger side and got in.

"So what were you doing out here?" Stiles asked as he drove.

"I was biking." I said, "I do it every Saturday." I rubbed my side. "What were you doing out here?"

"Oh….just a nice drive before the game tonight." Stiles said, making a face, "Calms me down."

"There's a game tonight?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Stiles glanced at me, "I'm guessing you aren't going."

"I didn't know of it." I said, shrugging. "I mean, I guess I'll go."

"I can take you." Stiles blurted out. "I mean, as an apology." He added as an afterthought.

"Right." I made a face at him and nodded, "Yeah that'd be cool." I said. Stiles grinned at me.

"Cool." He said. I nodded my head at him.

"So do you know if Scott's playing tonight?" I asked as Stiles drove through the small town.

"Uh, I haven't seen him all day." Stiles glanced at me.

"If he doesn't play, Lydia's gonna be pissed." I said, meeting his glance.

"Yeah, well, it might be for the best that he doesn't play." Stiles said as he shifted in his seat.

"Why?" I asked. Stiles looked at me, but didn't answer. I settled back into my seat, arms crossed as he pulled up to my house.

* * *

"Lacrosse is such a _joke_." Ben groaned as I paced around my room. "Football is where it's at."

"You didn't even play football." I scoffed.

"Yeah, but I still know that football's better."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and went into my closet.

"I'm just saying." Ben shrugged. "Do you like it here?" He asked after a moment.

"Yeah." I pulled my lips in and nodded, "But people are hiding things." I said, looking up from my shirt. "And you know how I am about secrets." Ben nodded.

"But sometimes people keep secrets to keep others safe." Ben pointed out.

"Well, that's stupid." I said, glancing at him.

"You have your secrets, Emma, let them have theirs." Ben said. I sighed and shut my closet door.

* * *

I cheered and clapped with the rest of the crowd as the BHHS lacrosse team took the field. I was sitting next to Lydia, Allison next to her and Mr. Argent next to Allison.

Jackson scored the first goal after knocking Scott to the ground. I cringed at the impact as Jackson ran down the field, chucking the ball past the goalie. The entire crowd jumped to their feet, Lydia knocking into me as she and Allison held up the sign that Lydia had made. It so artfully said _We LUV Jackson _on it with a bunch of hearts surrounding it. I rolled my eyes at the spelling of the sign as I looked out towards the field. I saw both Stiles and Scott looking at the sign. I felt myself tense up as Scott took a place on the field. He was breathing heavily and his stance was tense.

"Which one is Scott again?" Mr. Argent asked Allison.

"Number eleven." Lydia answered, "Otherwise known as the _only_ one not to score the entire game."

"I hope he's okay." Allison worriedly said, hand to her mouth.

"I hope _we're_ okay." Lydia was referring to the score which flashed 3-5 guest.

Lydia glanced at Allison, silently telling her to help with the sign. Allison scratched her head before obliging and holding up the sign. I rolled my eyes again.

The whistle blew and time seemed to speed up as the game got going. Scott grabbed the ball and shot down the field, flinging the ball into the net before people could register what happened. I bounced on my toes as the rest of the crowd jumped to their feet, cheering on Scott. I could hear Stiles whooping and hollering as I slammed my side into Lydia, who was the only one still sitting.

Scott McCall was on _fire_. He tore down the field each time the ball was passed to him. At one point, the other team just passed Scott the ball. Like it was no big deal. Scott scored another goal, this one going straight through the goalie's cradle.

With thirty seconds left, Scott had the ball once again. The clock was ticking down as Scott moved down the field, stopping just before the goal. A couple boys from the opposing team scuttled back, avoiding Scott as he advanced. Scott darted to the side, as if he wasn't quite sure if he should shoot the ball or attack the other guys.

"You can do it, Scott." I heard Allison murmur from next to me. I nodded as another team member decided to go after Scott, but right before they made contact, Scott flicked his wrist, sending the ball into the net. The buzzer sounded. It was over. BHHS had _won_. I cheered with Allison, suddenly surprising both of us as I went over Lydia and wrapped my arms around her, bouncing up and down. Allison laughed as she broke away from me.

"I'm gonna go say congrats to Scott!" She shouted over the cheers. I nodded and stepped back as she ran off the bleachers.

"Oh my God!" I heard Stiles shout with relief in his voice. I laughed to myself as I stepped down off the bleachers. The field was packed and the bleachers quickly clearing as people stormed the field. I fell onto the bench across from Stiles.

"And you said it was for the best that he didn't play." I laughed at him as Stiles scrubbed his head.

"Well, sometimes I make mistakes." He joked, looking down at his gloves. I laughed and shook my head.

"Why were you so worried?" I asked, looking back at him.

"I was just worried that if…if we lost then he…he was really nervous okay?" Stiles said. I raised an eyebrow. "And he was worried that if he lost the game, he'd lose Allison." Stiles finished, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Ah." I said, lifting my chin. Stiles nodded and looked over at his Dad, who was on the phone.

"Dad?" Stiles said. Mr. Stilinski held up a finger. And then he finished his call, clicking off.

"The medical examiner looked at the other half of the body you guys found." Mr. Stilinski said, tapping his phone in his hand, "Medical examiner determined killer of girl to be animal, not human. Derek's human, not animal. Derek isn't the killer. So Derek was let out of jail." Mr. Stilinski said, scuffing his toe. Stiles blanched.

"Are you kidding?" He almost shouted.

"Wait, when did you find the other half of the body?" I asked, holding up a hand.

"Last night." Stiles quickly answered before turning back to his dad.

"And when was Derek arrested?" I asked.

"This morning." Stiles slid his butt to look at me then looked back at his dad.

"We I.D.'d the dead girl. Both halves. Her name was Laura Hale."

"Hale?" Stiles asked, surprised.

"Derek's sister." Mr. Stilinski nodded. Stiles gaped at his dad for a moment and then looked at me.

"I have to go find Scott." He said, ambling off of the bench.

"I'll go with." I said, following him as he hurried across the field.

Stiles led me into the locker room. It was dark and smelly and cold. I grimaced in disgust as Stiles weaved through the rows of lockers and then he suddenly stopped, truing around to face me.

"What?" I whispered. Stiles just made his eyes wider and tilted his head to the opening. I peered around him to see Allison and Scott in a lip lock.

"Oh." I whispered out, exaggerating my features. Stiles nodded and put his hands on his hips. I turned back to see the two of them break away. Allison said that she had to get back to her dad and turned away from Scott.

"Stiles." Allison nodded at him, "Emma." She gave me an embarrassed grin. Stiles glanced at me. I stepped back.

"I'm gonna go." I said, thumbing behind me, "Allison's my ride home."

"See you tomorrow." Stiles said, referring to our Sunday night dinner.

"Right." I said, turning around on my heel and going after Allison.

I went out of the locker room and turned to come face to face with a grinning Allison. "I kissed him!" She excitedly said.

"I saw!" I said back, hands on hips.

"He kissed me." She whispered out, hat in her hands.

"Saw that too." I said, making a face. She grinned at me, then she swooned, letting out a soft sigh. I chuckled to myself. Then Allison perked up,

"So Lydia isn't coming out anymore because Jackson's all upset because Scott was better than him tonight, so I was thinking that maybe we could just go to my house? You could stay over if you want." Allison offered.

"Can I check with my dad first?" I asked. Allison nodded as I pulled out my phone. I quickly dialed Dad's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, M&M! How was the game?"

"Good, we won." I said, kicking at the ground, "Uh, Allison asked me to come over her house and offered to let me stay the night, if that's okay with you." I added on, glancing up at Allison, who was grinning.

"Of course it's okay with me!" Dad cheered out.

"You sure?" I asked, scratching my temple.

"Yes, yes, go have fun. Make friends." Dad urged, "I'll be fine."

"I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning." I promised.

"Sounds good, honey. Have a good night." Dad said. I could hear the smile in his voice. I felt myself smiling.

"Love you."

"Love you too." Dad automatically said before hanging up the phone. I gave a thumbs up to Allison, who squealed.

Then she grabbed my hand. I let her drag me out of the locker room. I followed her, running up so I was walking next to her, as she led me to her car. She kissed her dad goodbye and I went with her to the video rental store, where we picked out classic horror movies along with popcorn and candy. _A girls' night_, she called it. I spent the night with Allison, getting to know her a little bit better as she talked about where she lived before, mentioning her Aunt Kate, and how she moved constantly. I felt a pang of sympathy for the girl; it must've been hard, starting over and over again right after roots were settled. But she seemed happy here, which she credited to Lydia. I had a hard time believing that, but I would take her word for it.

* * *

**Shoutouts to Guest, Bethisafan77, milliontinystars, BrittWitt16, MessintheMirror, Guest2, . , Hanna, and krenee321! I appreciate all the feedback, so please keep it up! xxx**

**Also, gonna promote my tumblr a bit...the link is on my profile page and you can find a tab for The Rabbit Hole where you can see character bios, ask me things and tell me things and talk to me :3 Love you all! xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

I stretched out as the morning sun peeked through the blinds in Allison's living room. I pointed my toes and rolled over onto my side to see Allison's peaceful face staring back at me. I rolled back onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I sighed and pushed myself onto my elbows, looking around. There was no one else around. I got to my feet, carefully stepping over Allison's slumbering figure and walking into the kitchen, arms around my stomach.

"Good morning." I heard someone's voice say from next to me. I turned, seeing that it was Mr. Argent. I relaxed a bit.

"Hi, Mr. Argent." I said, giving him a small smile.

"Is Allison up?" He asked as he turned back to the pan on the stove.

"Oh, uhm, no." I scratched my temple, "I didn't want to wake her." Mr. Argent nodded at me, giving me another smile.

"Well, are you hungry?" He asked. "We have eggs and bacon and some bagels if you want." He offered, motioning to the plate of bagels set out on the counter.

"Thank you." I replied, going over to the counter and taking a bagel.

"So Allison tells me that you're new to Beacon Hills as well." Mr. Argent started. I nodded as I spread some cream cheese on my bagel.

"We moved in August." I added.

"Just you and your parents?"

"Me and my dad." I stuck my thumb into my mouth to get the excess cream cheese off, "My parents divorced before we moved."

"Oh." Mr. Argent looked thrown, "Well, I'm sorry." I shrugged.

"Not the worst that has happened." I said, ripping my bagel in half.

"Where did you move from?" Mr. Argent asked.

"Connecticut." I said around a mouthful of bagel. I leaned my elbows on the counter as Mr. Argent flipped the stove off.

"Who did you say your dad was?" Mr. Argent asked.

"I didn't." I shook my head, "But his name's Luke. Luke Gui. He grew up here." I added. Mr. Argent's eyebrows jumped at the name.

"I've read his books." He said after a moment.

"I get that a lot." I said, making a face. Mr. Argent smiled at me.

"Do you like it here?" He asked. I nodded and ripped another piece of bagel off.

"Yeah, it's a pretty quiet town though." I said, popping the bagel in my mouth, "I mean, I'm glad I have Allison though. She's a good person to help navigate through this, considering she knows what it's like." I said. Mr. Argent looked at me for a moment. I had the sinking feeling that I said something wrong.

"Yeah." Mr. Argent finally said, "Yeah, she's good at making friends." I nodded and swallowed my bagel.

"What are you two talking about?" Allison asked as she came into the kitchen.

"I was just talking to Emma about how she's liking it here." Mr. Argent smiled at his daughter.

"And?" Allison asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I like it. I attributed all of it to you of course." I said, waving my bagel at her. Allison laughed. I glanced at the clock, realizing the time.

"I, uh, actually have to go." I said.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Allison asked, motioning to the door.

"Nah, it's fine." I made a face, "I can walk." Allison nodded at me. "Thank you, for letting me stay over. It was-it was nice." I said, nodding to myself. Allison grinned.

"I'll see you Monday." Allison said, nudging me as I walked by.

"Thanks for the bagel, Mr. Argent." I said, lifting up the half of bagel I had left. Mr. Argent smiled at me before I turned and went out of the kitchen, grabbing my bag and shoving my shoes onto my feet and quickly leaving the Argent household.

* * *

Dad raised his fist to knock on the door. I bounced on my toes as I rubbed my arm with my free hand. We had walked to the Stilinkis. It wasn't that bad, only a three block walk, but since the sun went down earlier, it meant it was getting colder.

"Hey, you two!" Mr. Stilinski said as he opened the door. A smile broke out across my face as Mr. Stilinski ushered me into the house. Dad followed as Mr. Stilinski shut the door behind us.

"Oh, here." I said, handing the plate of brownies out to Mr. Stilinski.

"Oh, thank you, Emma." Mr. Stilinski took the plate with a smile, "Did you make these?" I nodded as I took off my jacket.

"It was nothing really." I said as I took off my hat and shoved it into my pocket. "Got me out of schoolwork." Dad grinned at me and ruffled my hair. Mr. Stilinski chuckled.

"Well, come on, Stiles is already in the dining room." Mr. Stilinski motioned with his head and walked ahead of us. Dad put his hand on my shoulder and we walked after Mr. Stilinski.

Mr. Stilinski handed the plate of brownies to Stiles. Stiles made an approving noise as he glanced down at the brownies. Then he looked back up at us.

"Did you make these?" He asked.

"Yep." I nodded once. Stiles grinned.

"Nice." He laughed out, turning around and walking into the kitchen.

I glanced to the table to see a two pizza boxes in the middle of the table with two containers of wings stacked next to it. I approvingly nodded to myself.

"Sit, sit." Mr. Stilinski ushered to the chairs that were set up. "Stiles!" He called out, "We're eating!" Stiles came around the corner, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he chewed on something.

"Those brownies are really good." He mumbled, crumbs flying out of his mouth.

I laughed as I sat down. Dad and Mr. Stilinski let out matching chuckles as they sat down across from each other. Stiles flopped down in his seat and started to open one of the containers of wings.

"So Emma told me all about the game last night." Dad was saying as I took a piece of pizza out of the box. Stiles nodded around his wing.

"Yeah, yeah it was a pretty intense game." He said, wiping his mouth. I folded my pizza in half and raised it to my mouth as the boys talked.

"His friend, Scott, scored the game winning goal." Mr. Stilinski added as he chewed around his pizza.

"Did you get to play?" Dad asked, reaching for his glass of water. Stiles shook his head.

"Not this time. But it was only the first game." Dad nodded. Stiles glanced at me, then looked away, then back to me.

"What?" I asked, lowering my pizza slice from my hand.

"You eat pizza wrong." Stiles commented. I raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware there was a _right_ way to eat pizza." I said.

"Right, cause you're doing it wrong." Stiles motioned to me with his hand. I glanced at Dad with a _can you believe this?_ Expression on my face. He just gave me an amused smile.

"All right, Stiles. Tell me, what's the right way?" I asked, setting my slice down and putting my hands under my chin. Stiles shifted in his seat and coughed, obviously uncomfortable. His gaze darted to his dad who gave him a shrug as he shot me an amused smile.

"Okay, well, you folded your pizza in half." Stiles started, motioning with his hand. Then he grabbed a slice for himself, "And then you proceeded to turn the slice around and eat the crust first." He said, miming what I did.

"And?" I asked, waving my hand.

"And that's wrong." Stiles stated, "You're supposed to eat it from tip to crust."

"Says who?" I asked.

"Says, like everybody who's ever eaten pizza!" He cried out, leaning forward. I rubbed a hand over my face.

"I can't believe we're having this debate right now." I groaned out.

"Yeah, neither can we." Dad said, tilting his head to Mr. Stilinski.

"You two want to be alone for this?" Mr. Stilinski asked, an amused smile on his face.

"_No_, I just need Emma to admit that she's wrong and I'm right." Stiles said.

"Which is _never_ gonna happen cause there's no _right_ way to eat pizza, Stiles." I argued.

"Yeah, there is!" He snapped back.

"No, there isn't!" I cried out.

"Yes. There. Is." He seriously said, placing a palm on the table, pizza slice in the other.

"No. There. Isn't." I said, just as serious as I placed my palm on the table.

I picked up my slice of pizza with one hand, never breaking gaze with Stiles as I folded it in half and slowly took a bite from the crust, ripping off the dough with my teeth. Stiles visibly swallowed, hand curling into a fist. He looked away first, glancing at his dad. I sat back in my seat, giving him a victory grin. Stiles tapped his fist on the table as Mr. Stilinski laughed at our exchange.

"You two were made for each other, I swear." Dad joked, picking up his pizza and eating it the "right" way. I snorted, leaning over my plate to drop my pizza on the plate as Stiles let out a burst of laughter.

After dinner was over, Dad and Mr. Stilinski took a brownie each and went into the family room. Stiles and I cleaned up the table and tossed the paper plates into the trash. I grabbed the brownie plate and set it on the table, folding myself onto the chair. Stiles came over with two glasses of milk and sat down across from me.

"Please tell me you do milk and brownies." He said as he sat down.

"I'm not a complete wack." I said as I leaned an elbow on the table and reached over to take a brownie.

"Sorry about earlier." Stiles lamely said as I broke my brownie in half, "I just get—"

"Annoyed when people don't eat their pizza right." I cut him off and grinned. Stiles chuckled and reached for a brownie.

"Yeah." He grabbed a brownie. I dunked half of my brownie into the milk, swirling it around.

"So, uhm, Derek Hale came into the video store the other day." I made a face as I looked down into my milk. Stiles didn't say anything. I glanced up at him as I took my brownie out of my milk.

"What did he do?" Stiles asked.

"He did what most people do ….rented a movie." I said, shifting in my seat.

"What movie?" Stiles asked, leaning forward as he dunked his brownie in his milk.

"_The Wolfman_." I said, crinkling my nose up. Stiles dropped his brownie into his milk. I made a face at him. "What?" I asked, biting into my brownie.

"It's just funny that he took out that movie." He absentmindly said as he stuck his fingers into his milk to get the drowning brownie.

"Why?" I asked, watching him fish for the brownie.

"Inside joke." Stiles said after a moment, extracting his fingers and wiping them on a napkin. I stood up and went over to the drawers, getting a fork. I handed him as I walked by. He took it and nodded at me.

"Wait, I thought you didn't know him that well." I said as I sat back down.

"I don't! I mean, I kinda know him—I don't know." I arched an eyebrow at Stiles. There was something up. Stiles sighed and put the fork into his milk glass, stabbing the brownie with it.

"You just need to stay away from Derek." Stiles said, "Just, he's not a good guy to be around, okay? He's dangerous."

"If he's so dangerous then why don't you just tell me what's going on?" I asked, Stiles didn't say anything. "Stiles, he knows my name. He knows where I work, where I live." I quietly said. Stiles glanced up at me and then looked back down at his milk.

"So did you go out last night?" Stiles asked as he cleared his throat, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Allison and I did a girls night at her house." I said, folding my arms on the table as I dropped half of my brownie into my milk.

"Does, uh, Lydia ever say anything about me?" Stiles innocently asked, reaching for another brownie. I gave him a look.

"Why would she say anything about you?" I asked, squinting at him.

"I don't know." Stiles quickly said as he shrugged.

"You want me to talk to her for you." I realized, sitting back in my chair. Stiles blew out a puff of air.

"What?" He chuckled, "No, no, that's-yeah." He glanced up at me. I took a sip of my milk. "That's totally it."

"You know she has a boyfriend, right?" I asked, motioning with my glass.

"Right! Yeah, I know, but—" He shifted in his seat, "I think I'd be better for her."

"Riiiight." I dragged out the word, "Cause you've been infatuated with her since the third grade." Stiles nodded as he took a bite of his brownie. I paused, tapping my finger on the side of the glass.

"Fine." I shrugged, "I can try, but she probably won't do anything." I said.

"Great! Emma, I owe you one." Stiles excitedly said, relaxing.

"Cool. How about you tell me about how you know Derek." I nonchalantly said, sipping my milk. Stiles blanched.

"Yeah, I can't do that." Stiles shook his head.

"Why?" I asked. Stiles opened his mouth to say something when Dad and Mr. Stilinski came back in.

"You ready, M&M?" Dad asked, clapping my shoulder.

"Yeah." I said, blinking away from Stiles and looking up at Dad, "I just have to get my jacket.

"I'll come." Stiles said, getting out of his chair.

He followed me to the front door. I grabbed my jacket off of the rack and slid into it.

"You're gonna tell me what's going on." I said as I pulled my hat out of my pocket and pulled it on my head.

"I have to ask Scott." Stiles nervously said.

"Scott?" I was confused, "What does Scott have to do with this?"

"Everything." Stiles sighed out. I matched his sigh, then held out my hand.

"What?" He asked.

"Phone. Give me your phone." I said, motioning for him to give me his phone.

Stiles fumbled before pulling it out of his pocket. I grabbed it from him and put in my number, calling myself before handing it back to him.

"There." I said, "Now you can text me after you talk to Scott." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod. "Good." I said, grinning at him.

"You sure you don't wanna take these home?" Mr. Stilinski asked.

"No, we're good." Dad put his hand up to push the brownie plate away from Mr. Stilinski. "Emma's trying to get me to eat more healthily."

"Stiles is trying to do the same." Mr. Stilinski said.

The men laughed, Stiles and I shared an amused look. "Tonight was their cheat night." Stiles said, nodding at me. I lifted my chin and opened my mouth, nodding along with him. I glanced to the plate to see that there were two brownies left on the plate.

"Just because you two have to eat healthy, doesn't mean we do." I sang out as I grabbed the two brownies and handed one to Stiles. The men gaped at us before Dad patted my shoulder.

"Problem solved." Dad chuckled as Stiles and I ate our brownies.

"Have a good night, you two." Mr. Stilinski said, nodding at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Emma." Stiles said, motioning to me with his brownie.

"See ya, Stiles." I said as Dad reached around me and opened the door. I followed him outside and popped the rest of the brownie into my mouth as we walked home in the cold.

* * *

I pulled open the door to the school, Allison following as she talked, "So how was the rest of your weekend?" She asked as I hiked my bag up on my shoulder.

"It was all right." I said, making a face as I shrugged. "Had dinner with the Stilinskis."

"Is that like a weekly thing?" Allison asked.

"I guess." I sighed out, "I mean, it's fine. I don't mind." I said, making a face.

Allison turned to look at me, giving me a laugh. And then she slammed into someone, books falling to the ground. I jumped at the collision as she looked up. It was Scott. His look of panic relaxed into a smile as he realized it was Allison. Allison gave a laugh.

"You scared the hell out of me." She laughed out, crouching down to pick up her books.

"You're okay." Scott breathed out.

"Once my heart starts beating again, yeah." Allison grinned at him as Scott handed her a book, little boy smile on his face, "What?" She asked.

"I'm just happy to see you." Scott blinked. He handed Allison her last book and the two stood up as the intercom crackled on.

_Attention, students, this is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled._

I felt my brow furrow as a groan rippled through the crowd. What happened to the bus? Allison and Scott shared a smile. Allison reached up and ruffled Scott's hair.

"Save me a seat at lunch?" She asked.

"Yeah." Scott grinned as Allison grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Scott.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll see you at lunch?" I asked as I pulled away from Allison. She nodded and hurried into her English class. I looked around myself before hiking my bag up onto my shoulder and hurrying down the hall towards the bus lot.

I pushed out of the double doors to find police tape around the bus, people milling around with cameras and reporters. I caught sight of the bus, which looked like an animal attacked it. The door was torn off, the seats ripped out, windows smashed, and blood everywhere. I swallowed and took an uneasy step back.

"Holy shit." Ben whispered next to me.

"What kind of person could do this?" I mumbled out.

"I don't think a person did this." Ben mumbled back. I felt my eyes widen as I stared at the bus.

"Then what kind of animal." I whispered.

"I—I have no idea." Ben murmured. There were claw marks around the sides of the bus, handprints of blood, it looked like a murder scene from one of those horror movies. I swallowed again and took another step back before turning and hurrying back into school. I jogged down the hall and slid into Chemistry just as the bell rang. I went to my seat and settled into it, pulling out my books.

* * *

"Mr. Stilinski! If that's your idea of a hushed whisper, I think you should take the earbuds out once in a while." Harris' voice caused me to look up.

Personally, I didn't hear what they were talking about; I was too focused on the reading. Stiles scoffed as Mr. Harris stood in front of us, hands on hips.

"I think you and Mr. McCall could benefit from some distance, yes?"

"No." Stiles shot back. Harris just gave them a look, causing Stiles to stand up.

"Lemme know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much." Harris blandly said. Stiles let out a single burst of laughter as he came over to me. He dropped down in the stool that was next to me.

"Yo." I said, flashing him a peace sign.

"Hey." Stiles nodded at me as he rubbed his hands together.

"Did you see the bus?" I asked. Stiles nodded again. "Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah." Stiles sighed out.

"So when are you going to tell me what you're doing with Derek?" I asked. Stiles blew out a breath and opened his mouth when some random yelled out,

"Hey, I think they found something!" Causing the entire class to get up and go to the window. I followed the mass of people, ending up next to Stiles in front of the window. We watched as a man on a stretcher was rolled out of the woods, all bloody and ripped apart.

"That's not a rabbit." Scott whispered to Stiles. What the hell? I glanced over at Scott before returning my attention to the dead guy. Then all of sudden, he jumped up, shaking and screaming. I flinched back along with everyone else. Jackson put a cautionary arm in front of me. I gave him a look, but he was too focused on the guy. I glanced at Stiles, who was slowly backing away with Scott. I chewed on my bottom lip as I turned back to the window, watching the medics load the man into the ambulance.

* * *

"Scott's saving me a seat. So I was thinking we could all sit with him." Allison casually said as Lydia, Allison and I went through the lunch line. Lydia gave her a look.

"Great! And, _when _were you going to tell me this?" Lydia chirped. I gave her a look.

"Well, I'm telling you now." Allison nervously said. Lydia sighed,

"Fine." She huffed out.

"What?" I asked, "Wait, we'll sit with Scott, but we can't sit with Isaac?" I asked, leaning around Allison to look at Lydia.

"Well, Scott and Allison are dating, so it's only fair." Lydia sighed out. I gave her a look.

"Oh that makes _complete _sense, Lydia." I tilted my head back as I spoke. Lydia gave me a look before spinning away and flouncing over to where Scott and Stiles were sitting.

"I don't get it." I mumbled as Allison stepped up to me.

"She's really not that bad." Allison said. I snorted and shook my head, taking a step forward.

"Yeah sure." I sarcastically said. I chewed my lip and glanced towards Isaac's table, noticing that it was empty. I sighed and followed Allison to the table.

I saw Stiles' eyes bulge out as Lydia plopped down next to Scott. He fumbled, trying to compose himself. I laughed to myself at his actions as Allison and I came up to the table. Scott moved his backpack to make room for Allison. I sat next to Stiles, giving him a knowing smile. Stiles grinned at me. I scooted my chair in as Jackson came up to the table.

"Get up." He commanded, looking at the kid sitting next to Lydia.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" The kid complained.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot." Danny shot back. I smiled at that as I opened my water. The kid grumbled as he got out of his seat and walked over to some other table. Jackson sat down next to Lydia as Danny opened his mouth.

"So I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack." He said. My guess was that he was referring back to the bus. "Probably a cougar." He added.

"I heard mountain lion." Jackson corrected him.

"A cougar is a mountain lion." Lydia spat out, whirling on him. I raised my eyebrows at the same time Jackson did. Lydia plastered on a dumb expression and adapted her breathy voice, "Isn't it?" I rolled my eyes.

"Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway." Jackson snapped. Stiles was fiddling with his phone.

"Actually, I just found out who it is." He said, looking up from his phone, "Check it out." I leaned forward as a voice over started and clips of the attack flashed by.

_The Sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition._

"I know this guy." Scott said after the clip had finished.

"You do?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver." Scott and Stiles shared a look. Lydia huffed out a breath.

"Can we talk about something slightly more _fun_ please?" Lydia asked, twirling her fork in the air, "Like, oh, where are we going tomorrow night?" Lydia suddenly asked, turning to Allison. Allison stopped mid chew and looked at Lydia.

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?"

"Uhm, we were thinking of what we were going to do." Allison answered after she finished swallowing. Stiles furiously chewed and stared at Lydia as the confrontation went down.

"Well, I am _not_ sitting home watching lacrosse videos so if the four of us _are _hanging out, we are doing something fun." Lydia looked at Allison. I glanced at her as she nervously swallowed her water.

"Hanging out? Like the four of us?" Scott incredulously asked.

I watched as Stiles began to freak out, clapping a hand over his mouth and furiously shaking his head. The poor couple had just gotten roped into a double date without even knowing.

"Do you wanna hang out? Like us and them?" Scott asked Allison.

"Yeah. Sounds fun." Allison said, even though she sounded like it wasn't going to be one bit of fun.

"You know what else sounds fun?" Jackson started, "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." He grabbed a fork and mimed sticking it in his face. Lydia scoffed and yanked the fork from his hand. Stiles rolled his head back at Jackson's antics as Lydia gasped.

"How bout bowling? You love to bowl!"

"Yeah, with actual competition." Jackson scoffed.

"How do you know we're not _actual_ competition?" Allison asked, raising her eyebrows at Jackson. "You can bowl, right?" Allison asked, looking to Scott.

"Uh, yeah, sorta." Scott nervously said.

"Is it sort of? Or yes?" Jackson asked, leaning forward. Scott looked at Jackson.

"Yes. In fact, I'm a great bowler." Scott seriously said. Allison grinned at me. I just quickly raised my eyebrows.

"Hey! Why don't you and Stiles come too?" Allison excitedly offered. Stiles and I didn't even look at each other as we spurted out our denials at the same time.

"Oh, no—no."

"No, I'm good."

"I can't I have—"

"I have a lot of homework and—"

"There's just too much going on—"

"Six would be too much." I finished, screwing up my face and shaking my head.

"Yeah, four—four is perfect." Stiles nodded at Allison. Allison screwed her mouth to the side and slumped down.

"Sorry." I mouthed out to Allison, shrugging. She waved her hand at me. I glanced at Stiles, who shrugged before turning back to whatever Lydia was going on about.

* * *

"I'm sorry if I put you in a bad spot today at lunch." Allison whispered to me as we worked on our French packets.

"It's fine." I said, making a face, "I'm not big on group dates anyway." I said, filling in the answer for the fill in the blanks.

"I would just feel more comfortable if you were there." Allison said.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because." Allison sighed out, "I don't know. I just feel like Jackson and Lydia are gonna get really competitive and if you guys were there, it'd be more relaxed."

"I'm not a fan of guilt trips, Allison." I said, looking up at her.

"I'm not trying to guilt you!" Allison cried out. I gave her a look. She sighed and slumped down, "So what are you going to do tomorrow night then?" Allison asked as she scratched out her answer.

"Probably studying." I said, shrugging, "Nothing special."

"You should get out there." Allison nudged me, "Get a guy." I glanced up at her and snorted.

"Yeah, okay." I shook my head as I circled my answer. Allison grinned at me.

* * *

"Dad, I'm home!" I called out as I dropped my bag on the floor.

"Upstairs!" He called back. I took the stairs two at a time, getting to his office in a matter of seconds. I pushed open the door as he spun around in his chair.

"How's the book?" I asked, flopping into one of his office chairs.

"Getting there." He nodded.

"How's the driving?" I asked, playing with my hair. Dad sighed. I glanced up at him, it was obvious he didn't try.

"So there was an animal attack at the bus lot." I nonchalantly said, changing the subject.

"I heard."

"They think it was a mountain lion." I said.

"What do you think?" Dad asked, crossing his legs.

"I think that a mountain lion is too big for that kind of damage." I said, dropping my hair. "I think it was something else."

"A human?" Dad asked.

"No, not a human, but something like it." I paused, "Hey, was there anything weird that happened while you grew up here?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked.

"Like anything weird." I stated, "I don't know." I sighed out.

"Nope, can't say there ever was anything weird." Dad said, clasping his hands in front of him. I nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good." I said, nodding to myself. I pushed out of my chair and went over to the door, shutting it behind me. I went back to my room and sighed, flopping onto my chair and tapping my fingers on my desk. Then I spun around and clicked on my computer, waking it up. Jenny's online bubble was pulsing. I double clicked it and her face popped up.

"Yo." She said as she worked on some sort of homework.

"Whatcha up to?" I asked, twirling a pencil around my fingers.

"This essay for your mom." She groaned, rubbing her eyes, "I have to write about a time I was _inspired_." I snorted.

"She's so typical." I sighed out.

"So what's up?" Jenny looked up from her textbook and looked at me.

"Today, at school, there was this like incident in the bus lot."

"A fight?" Jenny asked, perking up.

"No, an animal attack." I said, elbows on the desk.

"So?" Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone's saying it's a mountain lion." I said. "But how would a mountain lion even get _into_ a bus?" I asked.

"Well, maybe it wasn't a mountain lion." Jenny thoughtfully said, tapping her pen to her chin.

"That's what I'm thinking." I mumbled as my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, seeing that it was a text from Stiles. I sighed and opened the text.

_Sorry about today. It's not like I don't want to go out with you, I just rather not see Jackson with Lydia._

"Who's texting you?" Jenny asked.

"Uh, Stiles." I absentmindly said.

"What'd he say?" Jenny asked.

"Sorry about today. It's not like I don't want to go out with you, I just rather not see Jackson with Lydia." I read aloud. Jenny made a face.

"What the hell? I need backstory." Jenny said, leaning forward.

"Basically these two couples are going on a double date tomorrow night and they invited Stiles and I to come, but Stiles and I aren't together—"

"Why?" Jenny asked. I huffed.

"_Because_ he is in love with Lydia, who is dating Jackson." I explained.

"And Allison is dating Scott." Jenny connected.

"Right." I nodded, "So we declined and now I guess he feels bad." Jenny cooed and made a pouty face.

"That's adorable." She cooed out. I made a face at her.

"Yeah okay." I snorted as my phone buzzed again. Stiles, "And it would be pretty embarrassing to watch Scott completely fail at bowling in front of Allison." I read the text aloud. Jenny snorted.

"When was the last time he bowled?" She asked.

"I'll ask." I said, typing out the message. Stiles instantly responded, "Danny's eighth birthday party." I read. Jenny gave a pity groan. I laughed and set my phone aside.

"Why didn't you want to go out with them?" She asked.

"You know how I am about group dates." I said, crinkling up my nose.

"Yeah, but don't you want to go out with Stiles?" Jenny crossed her arms on the desk.

"And why would I want to go out with Stiles?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I leaned closer to the camera.

"I thought you two had like a thing." Jenny said.

"_A thing_." I repeated.

"Yeah a thing, like a—"

"A tolerance of each other?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. Jenny nodded.

"Right. I was gonna say flirtatious friendship, but…" She trailed off, grinning at me.

"No, no I don't think we're friends….definitely not the flirtatious ones." I shook my head and sat back in my seat.

"But I thought you liked him." Jenny said.

"I tolerate him." I pointed out, "He's hiding something. I know it. And I know it has to do with Derek." I said, tapping my finger on my chin.

"So why don't you just ask him?" Jenny shrugged.

"I've tried! Every time I try to ask him about it, he just shrugs it off." I said, waving my hand, "Or like tries to talk to me, but then we get interrupted."

"That's why you need to go out with him!" Jenny exclaimed, raising her shoulders, "Get him alone and then ask him. He can't get out of that."

"No, no, I can't." I said, waving my hand, "He's in love with Lydia, remember?"

"So?" Jenny shrugged.

"No, Jenny, I can't." I said, shaking my head, "He said he would tell me. So I'll just wait till he does."

"And what happens if that takes too long?" Jenny arched an eyebrow.

"I'll keep pestering him until he tells me." I said, shooting Jenny a grin. She rolled her eyes before clicking off.

I quickly pulled up at Google search page and typed in _Beacon Hills Hale House Fire_. There were pages and pages of results that came up. I clicked on the first one from the Beacon Hills local newspaper. I scanned the article, reading how there were only two known survivors of the fire. Derek and Laura. Well, I guess, it was just Derek now. The fire was filed away as an accident, a leak in the house and then someone lit a match. I screwed my mouth to the side and clicked open a new tab.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked from next to me.

"Satisfying my thirst for knowledge." I quipped back as I typed into the search bar.

"You have a thirst for knowledge about werewolves?" Ben quirked an eyebrow.

"Uh, _yeah_." I dumbly said, Ben rolled his eyes.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Derek's little family trait, right?" Ben asked.

"Maybe." I sang out. Ben sighed.

"Emma, you're gonna get yourself into something that you can't handle." Ben said, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"How do you know?" I asked, "I can handle myself."

"I know you can handle yourself, but I don't think you can handle what's out there." Ben said. I gave him a look before sighing and closing the tabs.

"Fine." I said, glancing away from him. "It's not weird for me to be talking to a dead person, right?"

"Right. Totally psychosomatic." Ben agreed. I blew out a breath and turned back to my computer, clicking open a Word document to get started on my English paper.

* * *

**Shoutouts to Guess, BrittWitt16, jedidah, MessintheMirror, Bethisafan77, zerogravityganja, kreene321, and Hanna! Please keep it up! xx**

**A/N: So I have no idea why the first two chapters were so long, but the rest of the chapters are probably going to average around 4,000 to 5,000 words. Probably. So yeah. Let me know what you think! **


	4. Chapter 4

My phone buzzed later the next night. I glanced down to see that it was Allison. I picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Emma." Allison said, ready to tell me whatever she needed to tell me.

"How was the date?" I prompted, folding myself onto my bed.

"So. Good." She sighed out, "I mean, I kinda realized I'm not big on group dates either, but like Scott was amazing! He scored like six strikes in a row." She was so excited, I laughed in spite of myself.

"That's pretty awesome." _Especially for someone who hasn't bowled since he was eight._ I reminded myself.

"Jackson was so pissed." Allison laughed, "But it was a really fun night. I wish you and Stiles were there!" She added.

"Yeah, well, I had a very chill night filled with studying and eating." I laughed to myself.

"Good." Allison said, relaxing as I assured her that I didn't mind staying home. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yep." I nodded and said my goodbyes to Allison before hanging up the phone. I rolled onto my side to plug my phone in and turned the light off, snuggling into bed and staring at my ceiling for an hour before involuntarily falling asleep.

* * *

Allison grabbed me before I even had a chance to make it to my locker. She was squealing and bouncing up and down like a kid on Christmas. I laughed at her excitement as I dragged her to my locker, "What are you all excited about?" I asked, "My birthday isn't for a couple months." I joked. Allison laughed.

"My Aunt Kate is in town!" She squealed out. I felt my eyes widen, her excitement was getting to me.

"Aunt Kate, cool Aunt Kate?" I asked, remembering how much Allison gushed about her aunt, who was more like her sister.

"Yes!" She bounced up and down, "You _have_ to meet her."

"Okay!" I said, enthusiastically nodding, "But I need my arm back." I said, looking to where Allison had her hands wrapped around my arm. Allison glanced down and promptly dropped my arm, stepping back. She was still grinning as she swayed back and forth.

"But, I just have to let you know that adults don't usually like me." I said, spinning my locker combination.

"What?" She blanched, "That's bullshit." She scoffed out in the same breath, "My parents love you."

"I've met your dad twice." I reminded her, "And I've never spoken to your mom."

"But Mr. Stilinski likes you."

"That's an exception." I said, shooting her a grin. Allison rolled her eyes.

"But, Kate isn't even a parent. She's cool. She's like a cool older sister." Allison tried to assure me. I gave her a look as the bell rang.

Allison grabbed my hand and dragged me to History. I followed after her. She let go of me as she fell into her seat and I sat right behind her. Mr. Westover was going up and down the aisles, handing out papers. He handed mine to me and I nodded to myself as a red A was circled on top of the paper. Allison flashed me her grade, which was also an A.

"So when can I meet this infamous Kate?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Uh, tomorrow?" She asked, "I'd say today, but Scott's coming over to study." She whispered back. I raised my eyebrows. She glanced back at me, "Not like that. We're just studying." Allison shook her head. I leaned forward and raised my eyebrows higher.

"What are you gonna start with?" I asked, "Anatomy?" Allison snorted and shook her head.

"We're just studying." She repeated again, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah, each other's bodies." I scoffed out, sitting back, "You're not _just studying_."

"Well, then what are we doing?" Allison asked.

"Something entirely more fun." I said, sitting back and sitting up, grinning at her. Allison rolled her eyes and turned to face front.

* * *

I went up to my locker and shoved some of my notebooks into it and grabbed the ones I needed for homework. I slammed the door shut and whirled around to see Derek standing in front of me.

"Holy shit!" I cried out, surprised. "Oh my God, Derek." I sighed out, hand placed to my chest, "You still owe me the movie. It's way past Wednesday and I get that you were thrown in jail and all, but—"

"Do you…know where…Scott is?" Derek breathed out.

I looked at him. His face was pale and he was sweaty. There was blood dripping out of his jacket sleeve, droplets staining the floor. I chewed on the inside of my lip.

"No, I haven't seen him since this morning." I nervously said, "Is everything okay?" I asked, gently reaching out towards him. Derek shied back from my touch. I hiked up my bag and looked around the hallway. Stiles and Scott were no where in sight. And Stiles had told me to stay away from Derek since he was "dangerous," but right now he just looked like he was dying.

"Derek, I don't know where Scott is, but if there's anything I can do to-"

"Emma!" I heard Jackson call out. I looked over at him as he quickly walked up to me and Derek.

"Come on, get away from him." Jackson grabbed my elbow and gently tugged me towards him, "He's on something." Jackson cast a look towards Derek as he tugged me away from Derek. I let myself be dragged away as Derek watched us go.

"Lydia would've killed me if he knew I let you go with that druggie." Jackson said as we went down the hall.

"He's not—Wait, Lydia?" I asked, brow furrowing. "What does she have to do with this?"

"She wanted me to keep an eye on you." Jackson gruffly said. I made a face.

"Why?"

"Cause she wants to be your friend—I don't know, Emma!" Jackson was annoyed with me. I rolled my eyes.

"A fucking guard dog." I mumbled to myself as we walked down the front stairs. I stopped as he got a little bit in front of me.

"Jackson, your neck." I said, noticing the marks on the back of his neck.

"Yeah, the wacko got me. I didn't want the same to happen to you." Jackson tenderly touched the back of his neck, coming away with red stained fingers. I stared at him.

"Come on." I said, grabbing his hand and leading him down to the girl's bathroom.

It was empty, what with everyone leaving for school and stuff. I placed my bag on the sink counter and took out the box of band-aids I carried around with me. I grabbed a paper towel and Jackson let me clean up the blood. I put on two band-aids and threw the rest of the trash out.

"Thanks." Jackson gratefully said.

"Don't get too soft on me, Jackson." I pointed at him. Jackson chuckled.

"Do you…do you want a ride home?" He asked, thumbing behind him, "It's the least I could do." I chewed the inside of my lip, contemplating the situation. I knew for a fact that Lydia would be in the car.

"I have my bike. It's fine." I said, thumbing over my shoulder.

"You sure?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good. But thanks….for the protection or whatever the hell that was." I said, motioning to the door. Jackson nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. I rocked back on my heels before spinning around and walking out of the bathroom, not saying another word to Jackson.

I hurried down the front steps and pushed out of the double doors, going to my bike. Scott was there as well. I bent over my bike and started to unlock it.

"So, what's the deal with you and Derek?" I casually asked. Scott's head flicked up to stare at me.

"What?" He breathed out.

"Derek. What's the deal between you two?"

"Why do—Why?" Scott nervously asked.

"Cause he came up to me in the hall today asking for you." I said, wrapping my bike lock around my hand. Scott paled.

"What do you mean he came up to you? Like today?"

"Yes, today!" I shouted, exasperated, "What the hell is up with you guys?" I asked, pointing at him, "He was bleeding and was all pale and shit and he was asking where you were." I said.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Scott said, shaking his head.

"I swear if you're using Allison for something as like a drug deal buffer or something, I will personally deball you." I threatened jabbing a finger at him.

"Drug deal buffer?" Scott repeated, but he had paled.

"I don't know!" I cried out, "All I know is that you, Stiles and Derek are all up to something and I'm gonna find out what it is." My voice went low.

Scott paled even more. And then a screeching of tires caused us to turn. A familiar blue Jeep was at the head of the ever growing line of cars. Scott cursed under his breath and hurried to where the Jeep was. I watched him talk to Stiles and saw them help Derek to his feet. I watched whole encounter go down as Allison came up to Scott. Scott quickly kissed her and hurried back over to the bike rack. I opened my mouth to say something, but Scott just grabbed his bike and sped off. I blinked before looking to the line of cars. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

I placed my bike on the porch and went inside, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I opened the door, _Why was Derek at school today? What's going on?_ I sent to Stiles, then I shoved my phone into my pocket and went into the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle. I went into the kitchen and laid out my books, sighing as I flopped down in the chair. I glanced at my phone to see there was nothing from Stiles. I put my phone down and started on my homework.

I knew the two of them were hiding something. They had lied about their relationship with Derek, on more than one occasion. Derek Hale was hiding something as well. And it wasn't drugs as Jackson had suspected. There was something weird about him. And I was pretty sure it had to do with his little 'family trait.' It was even stranger how he knew my name and Allison's name, even though neither one of us introduced ourselves.

I was giving myself a headache. It was too confusing. I just needed someone to explain it to me. I needed Scott to explain it to me, since he seemed to be at the core of what was going on. I sighed and rested my forehead on the table, arms hanging next to my slumped body like a rag-doll.

"Hey, M&M, you good?" Dad asked as he came down the stairs. I only grunted in response. Dad paused, "Do you wanna go out for dinner?" He asked, "Apparently there's a really good burger joint down the road."

"And how are we going to get there?" I asked, looking up at Dad. Dad paled and swallowed.

"I figured we could walk." He nervously said. I briefly closed my eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah sounds good." I said, pushing out of my chair. I grabbed my jacket off of the chair and slipped into it, following Dad out of the house. He promptly locked it as I walked down the porch steps.

"You're not even supposed to be _going_ to a burger joint." I pointed out as we walked.

"I'll get a salad." Dad shot me a grin. I rolled my eyes. "Is everything okay?" He asked, noticing that something was off.

"Yeah, yeah everything's fine." I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. "I'm just tired." I lied. This would be the first of many lies that I was going to tell Dad in the upcoming months. Dad glanced at me and stopped walking.

"Kiddo, if you aren't feeling up to it, we can just go back-"

"No, I'm fine." I interrupted him, "Really. Let's just go." I said, swinging my hips towards the way we were walking.

"I know you're still upset with me about the whole driving thing." Dad said after a moment of silence.

"I'm really not." I said, looking at him, "I get it, I really do." I sighed, "But it's just tiring. Seeing you try everyday with no results."

"At least he's trying." Ben commented from next to me. I didn't answer him as Dad rubbed a hand over his head.

"It's just every time I get into the car, I see it again. I see what was left after the Accident all over again. If I had just left a minute earlier, or not have done this or that, then it would've all been different." Dad ranted, flailing his hand in the air. I bit my lip. Ben was silent. I took in a breath.

"Dad, there was nothing you could do, you know that right? I don't blame you and I'm sure Ben doesn't blame you either." I said, feeling Ben's nod.

"But your mother does." Dad quietly said.

"Who gives a flying _fuck_ about Mom?!" Ben and I both shouted out. I threw my hands in the air and sighed, slumping forward as we walked.

"She does. She blames me and she's right. It was my fault." Dad quietly said. I stopped walking.

"Forget about her, Dad. Seriously. Move on." I said, staring at Dad. Dad nodded.

"C'mon, it should only be a couple more blocks." He said after a moment. I sighed and followed him.

"It wasn't his fault." Ben said as I walked up next to Dad, "There was nothing he could do. There was nothing anybody could do. It was my own fault. I blame myself. I should've done something different, I should've tried a little harder to fight back or done _something_."

"You were protecting me." I whispered out, so low that Dad couldn't hear me, "I should be the one beating myself up, not you. And especially not Dad." I finished, glancing at him as Dad pulled open the door to a diner called Toby's.

"So why aren't you?" Ben asked.

"I do. I beat myself up over it every time I fall asleep. But there's nothing I can do about it." I looked at him, "You're gone. I can't get you back. I have to…like you said…move on." I motioned with my hands still in my pockets. Ben nodded at me as my phone buzzed. I pulled it out to see an unread text from Stiles. I slid my finger over it.

_I'll explain later. Everything's fine I swear._ I screwed my mouth to the side and shoved my phone back into my pocket as Dad nudged me. He motioned to an empty booth. I slid in across from him and made him order a salad, just like he promised as I got a burger and curly fries.

* * *

My phone buzzed again as Dad opened the front door. I stepped inside and pulled out my phone to see Allison's name lighting up my screen. I answered the call, going for the stairs, "He—"

"Oh my _God_." Allison groaned out before I finished my 'hey.'

"What?" I asked, going into my room.

"You're _never _gonna believe what happened today." She said. I raised my eyebrows and quietly shut the door.

"What?" I whispered, "Did Scott screw up?" I asked, "Did _you_ screw up?"

"My _father_ screwed up." Allison said in response, "And Scott had to endure the most _awkward _family dinner including the part where Kate basically called him a kelpto!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, brow furrowing, "Did Scott take something?"

"No, I did!" Allison cried out, "I went in her room to…to get a condom." She whispered, almost like she was afraid of the word. My jaw dropped.

"You went—Allison, why didn't you just ask Lydia? Or me!?" I almost shouted.

"You have condoms?" Allison was taken aback.

"I'm a sixteen year old girl, Allison, of course I have condoms." I droned out.

"Well, I didn't—I didn't want you to think that I was like a slut." She nervously said. I rolled my eyes.

"So Kate gave him the third degree burn?" I asked, changing the subject. Allison sighed.

"It was horrible." She muttered, "I felt so bad. I tried calling him, but he didn't pick up. I just want to apologize."

"There's always tomorrow." I reminded her. Allison sighed, then she paused. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." There was a beat, "There's broken glass on my driveway." She said.

"Maybe someone dropped a bottle." I shrugged.

"No, no there's glass on Kate's car too." Allison mumbled. I screwed my mouth to side.

"Maybe she had her window broken." I said, trying to see the best in the situation. Allison made a noise.

"Are you still coming over tomorrow after school?" She asked.

"Yep. I'm a little scared of Kate now." I admitted. Allison gave a soft laugh.

"You have nothing to worry about, trust me." Allison said. I rolled my eyes and clicked off, tossing my phone on the bed. I fell back onto my bed and blew out a breath.

After a pretty peaceful night's sleep, I dressed myself in a white vintage patterned sweater paired with a red dot pleated skirt that was cinched with a coral belt. I shoved my feet into a pair of red pointy flats and clicked a chunky necklace around my neck as I went down the stairs. I grabbed my jacket and told Dad that I would be home later afterschool because of Allison. He grinned at me, obviously happy that I was spending more time out of the house than in.

I pushed out of the crowd the was streaming out of my last class, and went into the hall, on a mission to find a certain hazel eyed, shaved hair boy. I spotted him talking to Scott at his locker. I hiked up my bag and hurried up to him, slamming him against the locker. Stiles let out a startled gasp and opened his mouth in pain.

"What's with the physicality this early in the morning!?" He almost shouted.

"Why was Derek at school yesterday?" I shot back. Stiles visibly swallowed and looked to Scott.

"Scott? Wanna take this one?" Stiles asked, voice small. Scott paled and swallowed.

"Uh, he was at school because he—he was looking for me!" Scott burst out, "Yeah, yeah he was looking for me."

"I got that part, you idiot." I snapped back, "Now, I'm getting really tired of both of your bullshit and you _really_ don't want to see me angry." I threatened. If the boys could pale more, they did. Stiles let out a nervous whimper as I stared at the two of them.

"What do you want to know?" Scott asked. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I want to know why he was looking for you!" I all about shouted, "I wanna know why he came in here all bloody and pale and confronted me at my locker."

"Wait, he talked to you again?" Stiles held up a hand.

"_Yes_." I exasperatedly said.

"Did he do anything to you?" Stiles asked.

"He was asking where Scott was. He didn't do anything to me. I just wanna know what's going on." I desperately said. I was so tired of trying to figure out what was going on, the two of them just needed to tell me.

"We—we can't tell you." Scott nervously said.

"_Why_?" I hissed out between clenched teeth. The boys didn't answer, just shared a look. I felt my jaw click as I stepped back from the two of them.

"Fine." I growled out, "If you two assholes won't tell me, then I'll just go ask him myself." I whirled around and stomped away from the boys, ignoring their protests to not go after Derek. I grumbled to myself.

"They're just trying to protect you." Ben reminded me.

"Yeah, well, they aren't doing a very good job." I snapped back, "If they were really trying to protect myself then they would tell me so _I _could protect myself. I don't need anyone to fight for me."

"You did that night." Ben pointed out.

"And it got you killed." I hissed out, "So I'd rather fight for myself than get someone else killed."

"Emma!" Allison called out from behind me. I turned, plastering a grin on my face as she came up to me, "Are you ready?" She asked.

"Little nervous." I admitted, scrunching up my nose. Allison laughed and linked her arm through my elbow.

"You have nothing to worry about, seriously." She said as she ditched me to go to her English class. I shook my head at the girl and went into Chemistry, where I avoided the boys' frantic looks and ignored the incoming texts from Stiles asking if he could explain. I went through my day ignoring the boys, sitting with Isaac for lunch and noticing the yellowing bruising under his eye and on his jaw. I went through my classes, paying attention and taking notes until the bell rang and Allison grabbed me, pulling me out of the school, all excited.

The whole ride to her house was spent talking about Kate, Allison telling stories about how her aunt was more like a sister to her and how they were super close. I listened, laughed at some parts and cringed at others. Allison was really happy as she talked about Kate, and her happiness was contagious; I found myself grinning by the end of the car ride, all thoughts of Stiles, Scott and Derek pushed aside.

I followed Allison into her house again, letting her lead me up the stairs and into her room. The two of us started to talk about random things, like Scott and the newest History paper we had to write. About a half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Allison called out a sweet, "Come in!" And someone walked in.

"Hey there, I saw your car, but didn't hear you come in." A woman's voice said.

I looked up to see a woman in her late twenties standing with her hands on her hips. She was dressed in a tight fitted purple sweater that hugged every inch of her body and had a pair of skinny jeans on with a pair of high heeled black boots. Her face was sharp, but her soft curls framed her face perfectly. She shot an amused grin at Allison, which was speckled with a look of mischief, like she knew something we didn't. So this was Kate.

"And _you_ must be Emma." Kate realized, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at me and giving me a smile. I nodded, "Allison's told me a lot about you." Kate said. I glanced at Allison.

"You talk about me?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah, you're my best friend." Allison said, getting embarrassed. I made a face. Her best friend, huh? That was interesting. I turned back to Kate.

"Well, Allison's told me a lot about you too." I said, returning the smile, "I promise I'm not a kelpto or anything." I said, putting my hands up. Kate laughed.

"So Allison told you how much of a horrid bitch I was last night." Kate assumed, nodding at me. I grinned at her.

"Well, I am her best friend." I said. Kate lifted her chin at me.

"I like you Emma." Kate said, nodding at me, "Dinner's gonna be ready in a few." Kate said, rolling back on her heels before turning away from us and walking out of the door. Allison and I shared a look before laughing and continuing our conversation. We eventually fell onto the topic of me getting a guy.

"What about Stiles?" Allison asked, hugging her pillow to her chest, "You guys like hang out all the time."

"I wouldn't say _all the time_." I said, shaking my head. "I don't know, he's obsessed with Lydia."

"So? Lydia has Jackson." Allison shrugged.

"He asked me to talk to her for him." I said, playing with one of the tassels from the pillow I had on my lap. Allison grimaced.

"But you and Lydia aren't even friends." Allison sputtered out.

"Exactly." I pointed at her, then I sighed, "It's whatever." I shrugged.

"But you like him." Allison grasped.

"I don't know. He's a nice enough kid." I shrugged again. Allison gave me a knowing smile as her mom poked her head in the room, saying that dinner was ready.

* * *

I sat on the side of the table, across from Allison and Kate. I sipped my water as Kate started talking. I gave her my rap as she asked her questions. Moved from Connecticut. Like it so far. Divorced. Dad grew up here. Writes books. Oh, really? That's great. Yeah, all thanks to Allison.

Kate gave me another amused smile, nodding her head approvingly as she looked to Allison, "Looks like you got a good best friend." She said. Allison and I shared a grin before she returned to her meal.

"So, what do you think about Scott?" Kate suddenly asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"I mean I think he's a good kid. I don't really know him." I shrugged.

"So you approve of him and Allison." Kate went on, waving her fork in the air.

"Well, I can't really tell her who to and not to date." I said, shifting in my chair.

"Smart girl." Kate said after a moment. Allison grinned at me, "What about you, Emma. You must have the boys all over you." Kate said. I blushed and looked down at my plate.

"Uh, no. Can't say they're all over me, sorry." I said, glancing at Kate.

"Well, you're a knock-out." Kate complimented me.

"Thanks." I said. "But there's really no one." I shook my head. Allison gave me a knowing look. Kate caught the look and then focused her gaze on me.

"What?" She asked, looking between the two of us.

"What what?" I asked, looking up.

"Is there something you're hiding?" Kate asked, propping up an elbow and leaning forward, "Is there a guy, Emma?"

"What?" I scoffed, "No." I scoffed again, shaking my head. Kate and Allison shared a look.

"_She_ won't admit that she likes someone." Allison told her aunt. Kate gasped, looking back at me.

"Emma!" She gasped out, surprised, "Come on, girlie, spill the beans." Kate motioned with her hand. I shook my head.

"It's really nothing." I said, looking down at my plate.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Mrs. Argent asked, amused at us, "Your father looks like he's going to cry." I turned my gaze to Mr. Argent, who looked uncomfortable. Kate laughed at her brother's expression.

"Come on, Chris, it's just a little boy talk." Kate jabbed at her brother, giving him an amused smile. Mr. Argent looked pained.

"Why don't we move on?" Mr. Argent asked, looking at his sister. Allison and I shared a look before Kate turned back to me.

"God, Chris, you're so _lame_. Lighten up. Do you have any siblings, Emma?" Kate asked. I paused as Allison gave me a sympathetic look.

"My brother was always the fun one." I quickly answered, "Always making jokes and stuff."

"So _you're _the serious one." Kate pointed at me with her fork.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged.

"So what changed? You seem pretty lax to me." Kate said, grinning at me. I gave her a brief smile before swallowing.

"Uh, he, uh passed away." I said, fidgeting with my fingers. There was an awkward silence at the table.

"Well, now I seem like a total bitch!" Kate finally said, tossing her head back and blowing out a breath.

"No! No, you didn't know." I hurriedly said. "It's fine, I swear."

"I shouldn't have assumed." Kate held up a hand to stop me. I became extremely uncomfortable as the rest of the Argents gave me a sad look. I rolled my lips in and looked down at my plate.

"So Allison tells me you're the one who taught her how to shoot." I said after a moment, looking up at Kate. The entire table relaxed.

"She did, huh?" Kate said, looking to her niece. Allison shrugged, "Ever shoot a bow and arrow before?" Kate asked. I shook my head.

"Just on like the Wii, but I wasn't very good." I joked, earning a laugh from Allison. The conversation went easily from there. Kate directing most of it. I glanced at Allison, giving her a wry smile as I chewed my food. She was right. I did like Kate.

* * *

**Shoutouts to MessintheMirror, Bethisafan77, kenhat, zerogravityninja, krenee321, and kaljara (dude, you reviewed all the chapters, I love you. )! Please keep it up, I love all your reviews! xx**


	5. Chapter 5

"Light." I pointed to the flickering light that had been flashing pretty much my entire shift at the Video 2C. The second guy, Greg, had just come in for his shift. I blew out a breath as I slumped onto my elbow.

"Nice to see you too, Emma." Greg commented as he walked around the desk.

"Please just fix it. I think I had like three seizures." I said, not looking up from the magazine I was reading.

"That's not possible; you'd be dead." Greg shook his head. I flipped him off in response.

"Could you at least just sort and shelf the returns while I do it?" Greg asked.

"Anything for you, Greg." I said in a monotone as I pushed off the desk.

"Sorry to interrupt your precious reading time." Greg teased.

"Yeah, well, we can't _all_ have interesting lives, Greg. Some of us have to read about them." I opened my mouth in a fake gasp as I walked backwards.

Greg rolled his eyes as I walked into the back room. The morning crew had already sorted the returns, or at least tried to. I sighed and looked at the messy piles of movies before starting at the horrors.

About halfway through sorting, I heard a bang of something or someone crashing to the ground. Greg probably fell off the ladder again. I peered out the door and looked around. Everything seemed fine. Shrugging, I went back to sorting, picking up the stack of horror movies I had finished with. I put my earbuds back in and went out the door back first. I went over to the horror section only to stop, noticing the shelves were all collapsed in a row like dominos. I glanced around, taking out my earbuds. The lights were all flickering wildly. The phone was ringing, there was no sign of Greg. I put the stack of movies on the counter and carefully moved down the aisle, I peered down the aisle to see Greg's slumped over body, neck slashed and blood streaming into a puddle onto a floor. I gasped, scuttling back and hitting the column. I spun around to see a body stuck under one of the shelves. I hurried over to the flinching figure, realizing it was Jackson.

"Oh my God, Jackson!" I cried out, sliding down onto my knees. "Are you okay?" I asked as he frantically eyed the room.

"Emma? Emma, get out of here." He urged me.

"No, we gotta get this thing off of you." I said, going over to the edge of the shelf. I tried lifting it up, but I wasn't strong enough.

"Emma, go!" Jackson yelled at me, voice gruff.

"What happened? Who did this?" I asked, going back to his face and meeting his eyes.

Jackson opened his mouth to say something when I heard a low growl from behind me. I slowly turned on my toes, heart pounding. And then I let out a scream. Crouched in front of me on all fours was a beast. Its glowing red eyes felt like they were staring into my soul. I scrambled to my feet as I tried to back away as it advanced, but ended up falling up on the shelf that Jackson was trapped under.

The beast picked me up by the neck, its claws digging into my skin. I swallowed and tried to wriggle free as it growled at me again. And then, all of a sudden, the beast paused, whipped his head towards Jackson. I felt myself being pushed through the air and I heard a crash as I slammed to the ground, landing on my shoulder. I cried out in pain as the world spun. I watched, trying to keep my eyes open as the beast leaned over Jackson, and looked at his neck where the marks from Derek were. Then in a moment, the beast crashed through the window in one bounding leap. The world was going fuzzy as I tried to keep awake, but I felt myself slipping away as the world faded to black.

I felt a pounding in my head as I groggily woke up. The world was still fuzzy as I tried to look to the side. I was still in the movie store, on the ground. There were flashing red and blue lights bouncing off the windows. There was a crew lifting up the shelf that Jackson was stuck under. I groaned and turned my head to look up, staring at the flickering light above me. My shoulder was burning in pain and then I saw Mr. Stilinski's face looming over mine.

"I need a medic!" He shouted, never breaking gaze with me, "Emma? Emma, are you okay?" He asked. I tried to form words, tried to tell him, but the world started spinning again as a medic came over. I felt myself being lifted into the air. I tried to open my mouth, but it felt like it was full of cotton.

There was a sudden frigidness and I realized we were outside. I was gently sat up on the edge of the ambulance, head lolling to the side as I tried to open my mouth again. The red eyes flashed across my vision again. I gasped, shooting straight up, scaring the medic. The medic put his hands in front of me, steadying me.

"I want you to follow the light." I heard a voice say and then a light was placed in front of me.

The bright light shined into my eye. I did as I was told until the light came to the side of my vision. I blinked as bursts of the Accident flashed across my vision. I instinctively shut my eyes and turned to the side. The medic gave me a look before clicking the light off. My arm was still burning, I tried to move it, but I couldn't. I looked around to see Jackson sitting with Lydia on the curb in front of the store. Jackson got to his feet as Mr. Stilinski talked to him. I tried to get my bearings, I was so disorientated. I looked to the left to see Stiles standing by his father's car, watching the whole thing go down. He glanced over to me, eyebrows shooting up. He glanced around before coming over to me.

"Emma? Emma, what happened?" He asked. The world was spinning again. I tried to open my mouth again, focusing on the word.

"Wolf." I managed out.

"What?" Stiles blanched.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"What did you just say?" Stiles asked. I opened my mouth to say something when Mr. Stilinski came over.

"Emma, are you alright?" He asked, hands on his hips. I nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?" I took in a breath and looked over to Stiles. He nodded at me.

I opened my mouth and started telling Mr. Stilinski about the flickering light and how Greg was fixing it. I was in the back, so I didn't see what exactly happened, but when I came out, the shelves were all knocked over and the lights were flickering. I told him how I found Greg's body in one of the aisle, slumped over and slashed throat. Then I told him about Jackson being stuck under the shelf. I told him how there was some sort of animal in the store, I didn't get a good look at it, but it pushed me to the side and I fell on my arm, knocking my head as well. Mr. Stilinski listened to my story, nodding as I went along. In the end he thanked me for my story and brought a medic over to check out my arm. Stiles stayed with me through the whole ordeal, even though his gaze was on Lydia and Jackson. I had minor bruising in my shoulder, cuts on my neck from the claws of the monster, which they patched up with some bandages and the cuts on my face, but everything else was fine, no concussion or anything like that. I was feeling better, the world stopped spinning as I kicked my legs in the air. The medic left me and Stiles alone. I noticed there was an ever growing crowd that was forming outside of the police tape.

"Is Lydia okay?" Stiles asked. I glanced at him.

"I don't know, why don't you go ask her yourself?" I said, exasperated. Stiles looked away, then back to me.

"What?" He asked.

"I said, why don't you—"

"No, I got that. Why are you being so harsh?" He asked. My eyebrows jumped.

"Excuse me!?" I all about shouted out, "I was just _attacked_ by something with glowing red eyes and all you want to know is if your precious third grade crush is okay." I scoffed, "You're actually ridiculous, Stiles." I said, hopping off of the ambulance. The world spun again as I took an uneasy step forward.

"Emma, wait." Stiles came after me. I paused, turning around to look at him. "I'm sorry." He lamely said, "I just—"

"Care about her more." I finished, nodding to myself. "Right, well, I'll see you, Stiles."

"Emma, wait!" Stiles called after me. I kept walking, going over to my bike. I pushed through the crowd, not caring about if I was able to go home or not. I just wanted out. I didn't look back as I pedaled away from the crime scene, trying to get home before the tears spilled over.

* * *

"Dad!" I shouted as I pushed open the door, "Dad!"

"What? What is it?" Dad asked, running down the stairs. He took one look at me and stopped, "Emma, what happened?" He asked, coming up to me and pressing my body to his chest.

"There was—an animal attack." I hiccupped out, tears finally escaping as I cried, "It killed Greg." I sobbed out, "And it almost killed me."

"Why didn't you call?" Dad asked, rubbing my back.

"How would you have gotten there, Dad!?" I asked, voice cracking. "Walked?"

"Emma…" Dad started.

"No, Dad, stop." I said, holding up a hand, "I almost died tonight, you would've lost another child. Okay? So-so just man up! God!" I sputtered out before stomping away from him and up the stairs.

I slammed my bedroom door and took in a deep breath. I instantly felt bad for saying the things I did. I knew that it wasn't in his control, that it was his PTSD. I wasn't blaming him, I realized, I was blaming myself. I let out a breath and spun the cap off of my bottle of pills the medics had given me, popping one and getting ready for bed as a numb feeling overcame me.

* * *

_I was standing in the middle of the woods. I was in what I wore to bed, shorts and one of Ben's old sweatshirts. I looked around myself before seeing a figure a little ways off. I went up to him, bare feet stepping on the leaves and sticks. I pushed through the foliage, trying to catch up with the figure. _

_"Emma, don't." Ben was right by me. I whirled around, he was gone. I looked back around, realizing I had lost the figure. The sky was darkening, I needed to get out of here. I took a step forward and the smell of smoke became present. I crinkled up my nose, following the scent. Then I heard the screams._

_"Emma! Emma, help!" It was Ben. I took off running, getting closer to the sounds of screams and the smell of burning wood. I came upon a house, a house that was on fire. There were people trapped inside._

_"Emma, stop." I turned, seeing Ben standing next to me._

_"Emma!" His cry came out from the house. _

_"This is just a dream." Ben calmly said from next to me._

_"EMMA!" His voice sounded broken. I saw hands trying to claw out of the basement of the house. _

_"I need to help them!" I said, running towards the burning house. _

_"Emma." I heard Ben's voice again as I came to the house._

_"Emma, don't!" He called out. I whirled around to see his hand out to me, trying to stop me. The screams got louder, more desperate. I whirled back around only to come face to face with a pair of red eyes. I screamed as the monster lunged for me._

I was screaming as I shot up in bed. I frantically looked around, trying to catch my breath. I was in my room. It was five in the morning. I was okay. And then my door slammed open, Dad frantically running in.

"I'm okay. It was just a nightmare." I said, nodding at him, "I'm okay." I swallowed, trying to convince myself more than him. I swallowed again, smoothing down my sheets. Dad slumped against the doorframe, taking in a breath. Then when he regained normal breathing, he came over to me, sitting on the edge of my bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I felt my lower lip tremble.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered out. I was apologizing for more than my freak-out. Dad knew that.

"It's okay, M&M, it's okay." Dad whispered, rubbing my back with his hand as I cried into his side. "So, I guess that's a no on school today." Dad joked. I snorted, sniffling and wiping my eyes with my hand. I sat up and out of his side.

"No, sorry." I said, sniffling again.

"Take as many days as you need." Dad said, ruffling my hair as he got off the bed. I gave him a small smile as he walked to the door. I snuggled back into bed and stared at my clock for the next four hours before Dad knocked on my door again. I mumbled for him to come in.

"So I was up in the attic and I found this." Dad said, making me roll over to look at him. He was holding a box in his hands.

"What is that?" I asked, sitting up.

"It's a bunch of Ben's comics. I remember when you were sick once, you'd cuddle up in his bed and he'd read them to you." Dad said, "I thought you might want to look through them."

"Did you go up to the attic just for that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Dad coughed, glancing down at the box.

"Here." He said, stepping into my room and setting the box on the bed, "I'll be downstairs if you need me." I nodded as Dad stepped back, putting his hands into his pockets. "Oh and I may have told your mother about the attack." Dad casually said.

"Dad!" I shouted, "Why? Why would you do that?" I asked, groaning.

"Because she called and asked if anything had happened and I felt like I needed to tell her." I groaned again.

"Dad, now she's gonna call me non-stop. She's gonna tell Jenny and-oh my God." I groaned into my hands.

"Sorry, bub." Dad shrugged. I took one of my pillows and flung it at him, but he quickly closed the door before it smacked him. I waited a minute, fuming to myself before looking at the box tugging it over to me. I pulled the lid off and looked inside.

"Are you kidding me?" Ben groaned from next to me, "They're all out of order!"

"Calm down, you wack." I mumbled, reaching inside and pulling out the first comic book that was on top of it. It was the one hundred and eighty first issue of _The Incredible Hulk._ I flipped through the pages, smiling to myself. Until an image of claws flashed by. I quickly closed the comic book and closed my eyes as well.

"It's just Wolverine." Ben reminded me. I took in a deep breath, "Just Wolverine." I let out the breath, putting the comic book next to me. I opened my eyes and looked into the box, seeing a stack of _The Amazing Spider-Man _comics. I smiled to myself as I took out the stack. I settled back against my pillows and opened the first book, reading the first ever issue of the story of the boy who got bit by a spider.

About halfway through the sixth issue, there was a knock on my door, "Come in." I called out, not tearing my eyes away from the story and the colored frames. My door opened and I heard my Dad cough.

"Emma?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I asked back.

"You have a visitor." Dad said, stepping to the side. I looked up to see Stiles standing behind him, hands in his pockets.

"Hey." He said, giving me a two finger wave as he stepped inside. Dad nodded at me before walking down the hall, leaving the door open.

"Hi." I said, putting the comic book down and sitting up. Stiles shoved his hands back into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"Do you need something?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"What did you see last night?" Stiles blurted out.

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"Last night, you were sitting in the ambulance with me." Stiles started, coming over and sitting on the edge of my bed, "And I asked what happened and then you said…you said—"

"What?" I urged him, "My memory's a little fuzzy from last night." I reminded him.

"You said it was a wolf." Stiles finally said. I snorted.

"Did I?" I asked, putting on an act, "I must've been looped up on something." I shook my head, "There are no wolves in California."

"Right." Stiles said, bouncing his fist on his knee, "Are you okay? You look horrible—I mean—" He cringed.

"Yeah, right back atcha." I snorted out. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken up." Stiles nodded. I paused and looked down at my hands, "Stiles, the thing that attacked me….it wasn't a wolf—and it wasn't a mountain lion either." I softly said.

"So what was it?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know." I admitted, glancing up at him, "But I think you do." I said, staring at him. Stiles nervously swallowed and tapped his finger on his knee.

"Stiles, you need to tell me what's going on." I pleaded, shifting so I was closer to him.

"I can't." Stiles said, voice serious.

"Why?" I asked. Stiles didn't answer, "Stiles, I keep asking _why_ and you never give me a direct answer! Just tell me!"

"I can't, Emma!" Stiles shouted, making me flinch. "It's too dangerous. I can't—I can't put you in danger!"

"I'm already _in_ danger!" I shouted right back, "Whatever attacked me last night knows who I am, okay? So it's gonna come after me again." I said. Stiles looked away, "I can protect myself. I need to protect myself, Stiles. And I can't really do that if I don't know what I'm up against." I finished, placing a hand on his knee. Stiles glanced at me. Then he looked away, tapping his foot on the ground. Then he moved off the bed, going to the door. I slumped down, blowing out a breath. Dammnit. I watched him go to the door and carefully shut it, turning around to face me.

"I'll tell you, but you have to _swear_ you won't tell anyone. Not even Jenny." Stiles said.

"But I tell Jenny—"

"No. You can't, Emma. Okay? I'm breaching the bro code right now by telling you this." Stiles cut me off, hand in the air. I quickly nodded. Stiles took in a breath.

"You gonna tell me or…" I trailed off, making a face. Stiles blew out his breath and looked around.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out a way to tell you." Stiles said, glancing around my room. And then his eyes landed on Ben's comics.

"Okay, yes." Stiles picked up the first issue of _The Amazing Spider-Man_ and held it out to me, "So you know how Peter Parker was bit by the spider? And then he got all these powers like super speed and strength." Stiles waved his hands in the air. I nodded, "Right, well, that happened to Scott."

"So Scott went to a public exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials, sponsored by the General Techtronics Corporation, and then he was bitten by a spider that had been irradiated by a particle accelerator? And then he went to a boxing ring and took on a professional wrestler while wearing a mask?" I rattled off, raising an eyebrow. Stiles' eye twitched, but he looked impressed.

"Holy shit." He whispered out, "How do you know all that?"

"My brother." I said, shrugging. "So Scott has spidey senses?" I asked, waggling my fingers in the air.

"Not quite." Stiles said, pulling up a leg.

He proceeded to tell me about the body that he and Scott found in the woods, how it led to him leaving Scott there, which resulted in Scott being bit by a wolf. From there, Stiles explained what Derek had to do with the situation, how at first Scott thought that Derek killed the girl and gave him the bite. Derek was only a beta, Stiles explained, he had come from a family of werewolves, which were all burned to death in a house fire. Derek was searching out the Alpha because the Alpha had killed his sister and the quickest way was through Scott.

Stiles told me all about the Argents and how Allison's family was a bunch of werewolf hunters. He explained the bus incident and Derek's appearance at school; he had been shot by a wolfsbane bullet. Apparently, wolfsbane was a poison to werewolves, making them weak and easier to kill. Stiles then proceeded to tell me what really happened at the video store, that it was something called an Alpha. The boys were trying to figure out who the Alpha was because if Scott could kill the Alpha, then he could be human again. At the end of Stiles' story, he nervously stared at me. I knew it was true. I knew all of it was true. There was no other explanation for what I saw. I knew it wasn't a mountain lion, and it turned out to be something much worse.

"So Allison is Gwen Stacey?" I asked, referring back to the comics.

"Kinda. I mean, I doubt she's gonna die by being thrown off the George Washington Bridge or anything." Stiles said.

"Should I tell her—"

"No!" Stiles shouted, effectively cutting me off, "No, don't. She'll tell her family and then bad things will happen."

"Worse than being attacked by the Alpha." I figured. Stiles bobbed his head. I sighed and looked away from him, glancing at the comics on my bed.

"Are you okay with all this?" Stiles asked.

"I mean, Scott grows fur and claws and fangs every month, what could I not be okay with?" I asked, giving him a small smile. Stiles laughed. "It's gonna take some time, but he's still Scott, right?"

"Right." Stiles nodded and patted my leg with his hand. I sighed again. And then my phone buzzed. Stiles grabbed it, seeing the name.

"You have fifteen unread messages from your mom." Stiles read off the screen, "And thirty-two unread messages from Jenny." He glanced up at me, "You ignoring them?"

"Yep." I said, grabbing my phone and stuffing it under my pillow.

"Why?" Stiles slowly asked.

"Because my mom and I haven't spoken in about four months and I can't have Jenny worrying." I simply said.

"Wait, you haven't spoken to your mom since the summer?" Stiles asked, hand up, "Why?"

"Because." I shrugged. Stiles gave me a look, "She said some things that I wasn't really fond of." I said, shrugging.

"Like what?" Stiles pressed. I glared at him. "Just wondering." Stiles innocently said, shrugging.

"She basically blamed my dad for Ben's death. And that wasn't right. Cause it wasn't his fault."

"Whose fault was it?" Stiles asked.

"Mine." I softly said, looking up at him. Stiles nervously swallowed and opened his mouth before his phone buzzed and there was a knock on the door. Dad pushed open the door as Stiles glanced at his phone.

"I'll be right back." He said, getting off of the bed and exiting the room as Dad came in.

"You good?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said, looking down at the pillow I had in my lap.

"I'm sorry I told your mother about the attack." Dad started, "I just thought it was the right thing to do."

"No, you were right, she should know, but I'm not going to talk to her about it." I said, looking up at Dad. Dad nodded.

"I understand. Is Stiles taking good care of you?" He asked in the same breath.

"Yeah, yeah he is." I nodded. I felt my lower lip tremble. Dad pulled me close to him, "I miss Ben." I quietly said.

"I know you do, M&M. I know you do." Dad rubbed my shoulder. "If he were here right now—"

"We wouldn't be here right now." I cut him off.

"Well, maybe." Dad laughed, "But he would be all over you, making sure everything was okay and you had enough pillows and food and he would tell those stupid jokes of his." Dad chuckled, "And then he would stay with you for the rest of the day, telling your mother and I that he _needed _to stay home."

"And you would let him." I said, smiling up at Dad. Dad chuckled again before pressing his lips to the top of my head.

"I have to go to those parent teacher conferences."

"How are you getting there?"

"John." Dad said. I gave him a wry smile before extracting myself from his grasp.

"Have fun." I dryly said.

"I expect nothing less than all A's." Dad said, ruffling my hair as he stood up. He walked out of the door just as Stiles walked in.

"That was my dad." He explained, "They're going to the parent-teacher conferences."

"I'm aware." I said, giving him a wry smile. Stiles returned the smile.

"Do you have any questions about….you know?" Stiles waved his hand in the air.

"Ah, how about why the Alpha killed the bus driver and Greg." I said.

"That we don't know yet." Stiles pointed at me. I sighed.

"All right. So what do I do?" I asked, "Just pretend everything's normal?"

"Right. My dad ruled the attack to be a mountain lion and Jackson and Lydia seem to believe it. Lydia especially…" Stiles trailed off.

"What do you mean, _Lydia especially_?" I asked.

"I went over to her house before coming over here." Stiles explained motioning with his hands. I raised an eyebrow, "It was…something." I leaned forward, silently urging him to explain, "She was looped up on pain killers and basically—" Stiles stopped suddenly as he paled. He bounced a fist on his knee as he awkwardly looked away.

"Anyway, I found this." He coughed and pulled out a phone from his pocket.

"Is that her phone?" I asked. Stiles nodded, "I'm not judging." I said, putting my hands up.

"That's not why I took it." Stiles made a face at me. I rolled my eyes, "There's a video on here." He said, clicking on it and then flipping the phone to me so I could watch. The thing with red eyes burst out of the window, I closed my eyes and turned away, taking in a shuddering breath. Stiles faltered.

"Why did you show me that?" I quietly asked after a moment.

"I don't—I don't know. I'm sorry." Stiles awkwardly said, "Emma, I'm sorry." He reached for me, I pulled back.

"I believe you, Stiles. Okay? I believe that Scott's a werewolf and so is Derek, but you can't just show me these things!" I shouted, "I was attacked last night. I was attacked by an Alpha and I just want to forget it. But seeing it again isn't really helping." I said, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." Stiles was upset, I could tell. I swallowed and shook my head again.

"It's fine." My voice hit an octave, "Okay? But you need to delete that." I said, pointing at the phone, "Cause if Lydia sees it, she's gonna go into a state of shock." I said. Stiles furiously nodded, sliding his fingers over the screen.

"There." He said, "Deleted." I took the phone from his hands, "Hey—"

"How do you think she's gonna get it back?" I asked, "You can't give it to her, she'll think you're a stalker." I reminded him.

"Right." Stiles pointed at me, "And I'm sorry about last night. About asking you about Lydia. That was totally over the line."

"Yeah it was." I said, nodding at him. Stiles gave me a look before giving me an amused smile.

"So, uh, what issues do you got there?" Stiles asked, motioning to the stack of comics.

"Uh, one through four-oh-six." I said, peering at the numbers. Stiles' eyebrows jumped.

"Are you serious?" He asked, "That's like all of them." He excitedly said. "Do you mind?" He asked, motioning to the comics. I nodded and handed him the stack.

"This is awesome." He whispered like a kid on Christmas. "How did your brother get all these?"

"There was this, uhm, like antique store down the street from us and every weekend we would go and he find these. He found the Spider-Man ones in a box just like all of them I guess." I shrugged, "I would get records and he would get comic books." I paused, "I don't know why I just told you that." I laughed to myself. Stiles glanced up at me, a smile on his face.

"You're brother sounds like an awesome guy."

"He was amazing." I automatically responded.

Stiles continued to give me an amused look as I laughed to myself, shaking my head. We spent the rest of the night flipping through old comic books together, pointing out certain scenes or characters. Ben had a lot more than I remembered. I flipped open the last issue of _Captain America_ only to have a picture fall out of it. I flipped over the picture and saw that it was a picture of me and Ben. We were laying on his bed in the old house, he was reading his comic book to me. I looked about five years old in my Barbie pjs and pigtails. I smiled to myself, getting Stiles' attention. I flipped the picture towards him. He laughed, commenting on my pigtails. I stuck my tongue out at him before placing the picture on my nightstand and going back to the comic. I felt Stiles' eyes on me as I flipped through the comic book.

"What?" I asked, not looking up from the book.

"Nothing." Stiles said, but I could tell he was grinning. I snorted at him before shaking my head and turning the page to my comic book, all thoughts of the Alpha and werewolves filing away to the back of my mind.

* * *

**EMMA KNOWS! Finally, right? Anyway shoutouts to MessintheMirror, Bethisafan77, kaljara, zerogravityganja, kreene321, and milliontinystars! Please tell me what you think! What you like vs. what you don't like. xx**


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